Hong Kong —
US and Israeli artillery bombardment rained down on Iran, damaging some priceless cultural heritage sites, but scores of Persian artifacts were kept safe 5,000 kilometers away in northern China under the watchful eye of Dong Bibin.
The museum’s curators curate an exhibit of more than 150 Iranian antiques, from floral glassware to bright, intricately designed carpets.
Since the war broke out in late February, the show in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, has become increasingly popular, fueling Chinese interest in a nearby country and culture that rivals their own in depth and antiquity.
It was originally scheduled to end in March, but was extended until April and just ended on Monday. The exhibit will soon be exhibited in another city, but a decision has not yet been made. This will be the fifth city on the national tour.
Dong said he found it “very heartbreaking” to read that Iran’s historic buildings, including Tehran’s Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had been damaged in the war.
“But now I have in front of me a truly outstanding collection of Iranian artifacts.”
Many visitors shared their experiences of viewing these artifacts and encouraged others to visit as soon as possible.
Dong told CNN: “Thanks to the war, I felt a protective instinct, an urge to protect and preserve them as much as possible.”
Although Iran and China are currently ruled by revolutionary governments established in memory, the roots of Iran and China go back thousands of years. Each modern-day lineage traces back to ancient civilizations, and its people and governments are deeply proud of it.
According to UNESCO, the ancient city of Persepolis encapsulates advances in architecture, urban planning, construction and art during the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC), which preceded modern-day Iran, and is “unparalleled and ranks among the archaeological sites that bear the most unique evidence of an ancient civilization.”
More than 130 Iranian landmarks were destroyed or damaged during a six-week bombing campaign by the United States and Iran, according to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. UNESCO expressed concern about the damage to cultural heritage in Iran and Lebanon.
Both the United States and Israel maintain that they do not intentionally target cultural or historical sites. President Donald Trump has previously threatened to destroy Iran’s “entire civilization” if it does not meet his demands.
While Beijing has played delicate diplomatic maneuvers regarding the conflict between its world’s biggest rival and its closest friend in the Middle East, the public has shown a wave of curiosity and admiration toward Iran.
A major bookstore in Beijing also acknowledged the growing interest.
“Books about Iran used to be hard to find, but demand has increased recently,” said an employee at Beijing’s Page One bookstore, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On Chinese university campuses, students are poring over books about Iran to learn why the United States wanted to go to war with a country that seemed so distant and mysterious to them.
“Since last month, more students have come to borrow books about Iran, and even comic books like ‘Persepolis’ are being borrowed by more readers every day,” Zhang surname, a librarian at a prestigious university in Beijing, told CNN. She declined to give her full name because she is not authorized to speak to foreign media.
Persepolis, an early 2000s graphic novel written by Iranian-French artist Marjane Satrapi, depicting a young girl’s coming of age in Iran after the Shah’s transition to the Islamic Republic in 1979, was made into a 2007 film of the same name.
The book has re-emerged as a popular title in China since the war began, with only a few copies left in bookstores.
Watching documentaries about ancient Iran has become a favorite pastime for Karen Yang, a 30-year-old finance worker in Beijing, after a tough day poring over market data that tells the story of the war’s global ramifications.
The timeless beauty of Iranian architecture, with its ornate and geometric precision, is calming, she said. Although Yang admits he doesn’t know much about Iran, he said his curiosity has only grown since the war began.
“After seeing the news about ancient ruins in Iran being reduced to rubble, I started wanting to know what those ruins once were. And I think they are really beautiful,” Yang told CNN.
Another recent Iranian enthusiast is Echo Zhao, who works in the consulting industry in Suzhou, a city just west of Shanghai. He recently bought two books about the country in order to “better understand and empathize with the current situation and circumstances of ordinary people.”
The 34-year-old said China’s interest in Iran was “probably due to the current international situation and the reality of U.S.-China tensions,” noting that the two countries “share common civilizational foundations and a shared history of oppression and aggression.”
“Therefore, we have always regarded the United States as an enemy, as well as Iran, and in all aspects of our propaganda, we have treated the United States as the main enemy and adopted an anti-American posture,” Zhao added.
And many in China are also trying to understand what impact the war will have, as the war, currently paused by an uneasy ceasefire, continues to wreak havoc on global supply chains and puts pressure on fuel reserves, particularly in East Asia.
Gao Xiang, an academic publisher in Beijing, told CNN that he recently dug out a book about Iran from a forgotten corner of his office to better understand what was going on.
The 45-year-old noted that Iran shares ties with China, as “ancient Iran has always been an important link in China’s ancient Silk Road trade route.”
“But now I want to read the book to understand how the US going to war with this country will affect our energy supply,” he added.
Ying Quangbin, a Chinese expatriate in Iran and chief curator of the Hohhot exhibition, said, “I want my fellow countrymen to know that Iranians are human beings just like us.”
“They have their own joys and sorrows, their own worldview,” he says.
“I am really satisfied because I believe this will improve the image of Iranian civilization and Iran itself.”
Additional reporting by Joyce Jiang
