Washington, D.C. – The National Museum of Asian Art is presenting “Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings,” the first major exhibition in the United States dedicated to Anyang, the capital of ancient China’s Shang dynasty (occupied ca. 1250 BCE–ca. 1050 BCE), the source of China’s earliest surviving written records, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Chinese archaeology. 

• Comprised of objects exclusively from the museum’s collection, “Anyang” will be on view February 25, 2023 – April 28, 2024. It is the second in a series of exhibitions that celebrate the National Museum of Asian Art’s centennial in 2023.

• "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings” brings together over 200 artifacts—including jade ornaments, ceremonial weapons, ritual bronze vessels, bells and chariot fittings—to examine the Shang state and artistic achievements of those who lived in its capital some 3,000 years ago. 

• The exhibition will feature a series of digital explorations, many developed in partnership with award-winning production studio UNIT9, that will help visitors revisit the discovery of the city almost a century ago.

• The public will have the opportunity to explore the early development of Chinese writing, enduring ritual practices, innovations in weaponry and warfare, advances in design and the highly personal spaces of tombs, including objects chosen for the afterlife.