The British Museum's touring exhibit "Treasures of the World's Cultures" has attracted over 80,000 visitors in its first month.

"It is amazing that such an exhibit on foreign cultures has become so popular in Beijing," said Yao An, deputy curator of the Capital Museum of Beijing.

Many companies bought group tickets for employees and young people made up a large part of the audience, according to Yao.

Not only were the treasures warmly received, but also related picture albums and souvenirs, Yao said. More than 200 albums on the displayed items have been bought every day.

The exhibit displays 272 artifacts including a 3,000-year-old mummy, an ancient statue of Dionysos, son of Zeus, a 2,100-year-old gold pendant featuring Aphrodite and Eros, and Leonardo da Vinci's works.

Treasures on show also include ancient Egyptian tablets, Greek busts, Roman sculptures and the world's oldest tool.

It is the first large-scale international exhibition since the newly-built Capital Museum opened last year.

The British Museum, which has loaned the 272 artifacts to the Capital Museum of Beijing for an 80-day exhibition, plans to arrange more displays in China in the future, said museum director Neil MacGregor.

The launch of the exhibition on March 18 marks the first time that the 253-year-old British Museum, the world's oldest national public museum, has showcased some of its collections in Beijing.

Five lectures on world history have been arranged during the exhibition with the first one given by MacGregor entitled "Around the World in 20 Objects" at the exhibit's opening.

The Treasures of the World's Cultures collection has been displayed in Japan and the Republic of Korea, attracting 1.3 million people during its four-city tour of Japan and 600,000 in Seoul.

Source: Xinhua