Visitors explore the Golden Mummies of Egypt exhibition at the World Art Museum in Beijing on Sunday. Photo: Li Hao/GT

A new exhibition featuring Egyptian mummies kicked off at Beijing's World Art Museum at the Chinese Millennium Monument on Sunday with strict pandemic measures. 

As one of the few major overseas exhibitions to be held in China amid the pandemic, the Golden Mummies of Egypt exhibition puts on display 11 portraits and two mummies buried 2,000 years ago, and, for the first time ever, brings six mummies wrapped in gold leaf to China.

The latest exhibition in the China Cultural Tourism and Creativity company's Meet You Museum series, the exhibition delves into the modern discoveries of the mummies and the art of ancient Eygpt across seven sections.  

Showcasing stunning objects from the Manchester Museum's world-class collection, this exhibition offers an insight into the hopes and fears of the wealthy in society as those who could afford the expensive process of mummification hoped to cheat death. By being covered in gold, the Egyptians hoped to imitate the eternal radiance of the gods themselves.

Multi-media content including documentaries and 3D scans will also offer visitors a chance to learn more about ancient Egyptian culture.