COLOMBO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Sri Lanka-China exhibition portraying the history and culture of the Maritime Silk Road kicks off at the Colombo National Museum on Wednesday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Sri Lanka.

Titled "Gone with the Wind and Waves Maritime Silk Road Chinese Cultural Relics Exhibition", the event is organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs, the Art Exhibition China and the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, in a bid to inform the Sri Lankan public of the strong cultural ties shared between the two countries since ancient times.

Speaking at the launch of the exhibition, Director of Art Exhibition China Zhou Ming said that the 27 sets exhibited were extremely valuable objects from the collection of two Chinese Maritime Museums.

He said the exhibits bear testimony to the glorious history of the China-Sri Lanka maritime silk road and illustrate prominent historical figures including that the Ceylon Prince and Princess.

"The year 2017 marks the 60th anniversary of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations. This exhibition presented on this memorable occasion will surely play an important role in cementing the bilateral friendship and strengthening the people to people connectivity among countries along the silk road," Zhou said.

"We hope this exhibition will continue to honour the China-Sri Lanka friendship and write a new and glorious chapter for our relations," he added.

Colombo National Museum Superintendent Ranjith Hewage thanked the Chinese delegation for organizing the event, saying that relations between China and Sri Lanka had only been strengthened since ancient times.