TAXILA: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing visited Taxila Museum on Sunday.

Museum curator Nasir Khan received the envoy and briefed him about the chronology, significance and history of Taxila valley civilisation and Buddhism.

He informed the envoy that there were 4,000 objects, including stone, stucco, terracotta, silver, gold, iron and semiprecious stones, displayed in the museum.

He also briefed the envoy about the history of Gandhara civilisation, various stupas, statues and other artifacts in the museum. The envoy and his team were taken around the main hall which exhibits more than 70 stories of the life of Buddha i.e. from the time of his birth till death.

They also visited the Bodhisattva and Buddha galleries. The envoy was informed that hundreds of monasteries and stupas were built together with Greek and Kushan towns such as Sirkap and Sirsukh, both in Taxila.

“Mainly the display consists of objects from 600 BC to 500 AD,” he said.

Gandhara is the second holy land of Buddhism and it is the place from where the religion flourished across the globe.
While recording his views in comments book, Mr Yao lauded the government for preserving sites related to Buddhism and maintaining Taxila as one of the prominent places for Buddhists.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2019