URUMQI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Hotan Museum officially opened to the public Monday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The culture center converted museum is the first museum in Hotan Prefecture. More than 1,300 precious cultural relics are on display, many of which tell the history of the ancient Silk Road.

Hotan, located on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, is a historical place where East met West along the ancient "Jade Road" and Silk Road.

Hotan Museum thus enjoys the privilege of having an admirable collection of cultural relics, ranging from bronze ware, pottery, jade and coins to ancient books and specimens.

The relics on display also irrefutably prove that Xinjiang has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times.

Among them, the one most appealing to visitors is a piece of brocade with eight Chinese characters that literally read "Five stars rise in the East, benefitting China."

In 1995, archaeologists discovered the brocade in a tomb of Niya ruins in Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture. The brocade was designated as a national treasure shortly after it was unearthed.

"There are five-star patterns and auspicious birds and animals. The words 'Five stars rise in the East, benefitting China' were woven between the patterns," explained Wang Xinyu, a guide with the Hotan Museum.

Yu Zhiyong, curator of the Museum of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, gave a special lecture in the Hotan Museum on the excavation and protection of the brocade as well as progress in its study.

Monday marks this year's International Museum Day with the theme of "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion."

Hotan Museum was built with assistance from the Beijing Municipality, which is in pair with Hotan according to a pairing assistance program initiated in 2010 to support Xinjiang in building new infrastructure and promoting local development. Enditem