Pliny the Elder, author of Natural History, who also lived in the first century, wrote in his book: "Seres (China) is famous throughout the world for its silk, which grows on trees in the forest ... Garments made of silk have been traded in Rome and are popular among the noble women ..."

From the book - a 1525 version from Rome was displayed in the Beijing museum - we know that the ancient Romans regarded silk similar to fruit.

Porcelain was another product that interested Westerners. In the exhibited oil painting, The Feast of the Gods, by 16th-century master Bellini and his student Tiziano, the three fruit bowls were likely to be China-made blue-and-white porcelain. A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) blue-and-white bowl was displayed below the painting for comparison.

A maritime Silk Road was developed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which proved to be significant when the land route was blocked in later dynasties.

Maps were necessary for trade via the oceans. On a displayed map entitled Atlas Catalan, a collection from a Paris library, a man wearing a crown and green robe stood central. This was Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) Emperor Kublai Khan. Westerners' knowledge about this figure is mainly from The Travels of Marco Polo.

Several collectors from Italy brought a number of items related to Marco Polo to Beijing. They included an illustrated copy of the travelogue and a porcelain vessel called the "Marco Polo jar".

The latter is a Dehua, Fujian-made porcelain jar said to have been brought home by Polo. However, it was later proved to have been transported to Europe by a Byzantine merchant.