Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Museum

All the artifacts for the world's largest-ever exhibition of ancient American civilizations have safely arrived in Shanghai, with the second and also final batch of Mexican cultural relics touching down at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Monday night after a transoceanic flight of over 13,000 kilometers, according to a press release the museum sent to the Global Times on Monday.

The first shipments of artifacts from Peru and Mexico landed on May 29 and June 6 respectively, marking the complete delivery of all 1,129 sets, or nearly 3,000 pieces, of ancient Central and South American artifacts. 

The highly anticipated exhibition is scheduled to run at the Shanghai Museum from July 9, 2026 to November 14, 2027, offering an extended immersive cultural experience for visitors. It will be the world's largest showcase of ancient American civilizations, the release noted.

Titled On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas, the showcase serves as the sixth installment of the Shanghai Museum's flagship "Dialogue with the World" series. 

"This will be the largest, highest-level, most comprehensive and most cutting-edge exhibition of ancient American civilizations in history," Chu Xiaobo, director of the Shanghai Museum, told the Global Times.

Curated under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, and Peru's Ministry of Culture, it follows the blockbuster On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt exhibition in 2025 and represents another landmark global civilization showcase for the institution.

In 2025, the fifth event, On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, attracted more than 2.77 million visitors and generated over 30 billion online views, setting a new record for the highest attendance at a single paid exhibition in museums worldwide, according to the press release.

Chu introduced that the exhibition occupies three full floors with an immersive exhibition space of over 10,000 square meters. The Shanghai Museum has also expanded the cultural and creative product lineup to around 3,000 categories, triple the variety available for the Egypt exhibition. 

He added that deploying two full cargo charter flights for a single museum exhibition is unprecedented worldwide, underscoring the unprecedented scale of the project.

The undisputed centerpiece of the exhibition's first batch of relics is the 4.5-metric ton San Lorenzo Colossal Head 4, making its debut appearance in Asia. 

The monumental basalt sculpture symbolizes the supreme ruling power of early Mesoamerican civilizations. Dating back to ancient times, the creation and transportation of the giant stone head remains a marvel: The Olmec people transported tons of boulders dozens of kilometers from the Tuxtla Mountains to ritual centers via combined water and land routes, all without the aid of wheeled tools or draft animals.

Wei Gang from the Shanghai Museum's Exhibition Department revealed the extreme logistical efforts made to ensure the relic's safe delivery and display. "We adopted a 10-ton forklift for loading, as conventional 3-ton equipment is incapable of handling such a heavy artifact. Both cranes and forklifts will be used during installation to place the giant head in the museum's main lobby," Wei told the Global Times. 

The relic was originally structurally integrated with the floor of Mexico's Xalapa Museum of Anthropology. The Shanghai Museum has custom-built an exclusive plinth for its Asian showcase.

Diplomatic representatives spoke highly of the cross-cultural event ahead of its opening. 

At a press briefing, David Gamarra, consul general of Peru in Shanghai, said most of the cultural relics in the exhibition are making their China debut. These artifacts vividly illustrate the artistic style and spiritual life of Andean civilizations, reflecting the exquisite artistry and highly developed culture of ancient Peru.

Rodrigo Topete Maza, acting consul general of Mexico in Shanghai, noted China and Mexico both value the profound friendship and long history shared by China and Mexico. He said that through the exhibition, visitors are sure to sense the deep connections between the two nations.

According to arrangements by the museum, staff will start unpacking the relics and begin exhibition layout work starting from Thursday.