Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi observes an ancient Chinese bronze artifact at the Shanghai Museum East on Friday. Photo: Lu Ting/GT

Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi on Friday visited the Shanghai Museum East, where he explored the museum's renowned collections of bronzes and ancient ceramics.

Against the backdrop of a temperature drop in Shanghai, President Orsi wore a cashmere scarf featuring geometric patterns identical to those on the museum's treasure, the Square Hu (wine vessel) with Inlaid Geometric Pattern. 

The scarf, a traditional Tibetan handicraft made using the pulu weaving technique, was presented as a gift to President Orsi, Chu Xiaobo, director of the Shanghai Museum, told the Global Times on Friday.

During his visit to the museum, Orsi toured two permanent galleries: the Ancient Chinese Bronze gallery and the Ancient Chinese Ceramics gallery. Guided by professional docent, he listened carefully to the stories and historical contexts behind the artifacts.

He marveled at the exquisite craftsmanship of bronze casting from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the ritual systems and sacrificial cultures embodied in the vessels, and the historical value recorded in inscriptions.

At the end of the visit, Chu presented President Orsi with a set of commemorative gifts to make up for his not being able to view the entire collection. The gifts included a replica of the Da Ke Ding – a 2,000-year-old bronze tripod – which was one of the most important artifacts in the museum, an artwork about painter Xu Beihong's iconic horse paintings, and a book introducing the Shanghai Museum East.

Before leaving, President Orsi wrote on the museum's guest book: "El árbol crece si las raíces son fuertes" (A tree grows if its roots are strong), symbolizing the deep-rooted foundation for the sustained development of cultural exchanges between Uruguay and China.

Orsi began a week-long state visit to China on Sunday and Shanghai is the second stop of his visit. He is the first leader from Latin America to visit China in 2026.