Close sister city relationships had been crucial in bringing a high-quality exhibition of Chinese artefacts to Dunedin, Prime Minister Helen Clark said yesterday.
She was speaking to about 250 people at the Otago Museum during an opening ceremony for "The Emperor's Dragons", an exhibition of 103 artefacts from the Shanghai Museum.
Miss Clark said the Shanghai Museum, which she had visited about 11 years ago, housed "an extraordinary collection".
Because of the "incredible relationship" which had developed between the Otago Museum and the Shanghai Museum, and the close links between Dunedin and its Chinese sister city Shanghai, and between New Zealand and China, visitors were now privileged to see "some of these amazing treasures here in Dunedin".
The Shanghai Museum exhibition focused on the importance of the dragon symbol in Chinese life.
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin and Otago Museum chief executive Shimrath Paul also spoke at the opening ceremony, which included a Maori welcome by Matapura Ellison, chairman of the museum's Maori advisory committee, with translations into English and Maori also provided.
The free exhibition runs for six months.
