A new exhibition at the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou traces the northern artery of the Silk Road — the Grassland Silk Road — through the lens of Khitan culture. Laid out in four themed sections, the show explores the route’s origins, the imprint of nomadic and farming peoples, the mingling of Eurasian civilizations, and the road’s wider reach.

Stepping into the first gallery, visitors encounter a striking yellow-jade silkworm, a national first-class relic from the Neolithic era (about 5,000–6,500 years old). Curators say it speaks to ancient reverence for both jade and the silkworm motif in ritual life.

The exhibition gathers 213 items from more than ten museums across China — including 66 national first-level relics — offering a rare, tangible glimpse of how pastoral and agrarian worlds met and merged on the steppe.

The show runs through October 20, inviting anyone curious about the Silk Road’s northern stories to come and read history in objects.