5000 Years of Chinese Art

The exhibition presented art and objects made over a period of 5,000 years. Several of the works had rarely been exhibited before, as some had only been discovered in 1994. Among the objects that found their way to Høvikodden was, for example, a piece of the Great Wall of China. Otherwise, the halls were adorned with ceramics, textiles, paintings, calligraphy, furniture, tools and ornaments.

One aspect of the exhibition was that the stands were filled with 20 tonnes of sand at the bottom, with the aim of having the effect of making the objects on display appear like fabled, archaeological finds. The enormous amount of sand had to be specially imported. "The rooms are dark, the lighting is special. This means that the sand also comes to life with transparent shadows. It becomes almost an illusion of light, filtered through the clearest water, i.e. exactly what exhibition architect Einar Hjeldnes and project manager Mi Qiu were looking for". Ebba Elfving wrote in Hufuudstasbladet 11.11.95.

There were a number of events linked to the exhibition, including a fashion show with Hong Kong fashion designer Flora Pavlova Cheong-Leen, who presented a collection inspired by Chinese history and traditions while also trying to portray China in the present day. Magne Furuholmen and Kjetil Bjerkestrand composed music for the show, which was based on traditional Chinese music. Other events associated with the exhibition were ballet performances with the Shanghai Ballet and calligraphy demonstrations with the graphic artist Xiao Fan Wang. Fortune teller Hal Lee Yang also visited Høvikodden and gave a lecture on Chinese astrology.

It was the centre's largest single project to date and the exhibition's popularity led to the centre's opening hours being extended to 11 p.m.