‘The Golden Bridge on Silk Road’

The ‘Golden Bridge on Silk Road’ installation was designed by Chinese artist Shu Yong and first displayed publicly at the Milan Expo in 2015. Influenced significantly by the Belt and Road Initiative, the installation is meant to symbolise China’s “hope for joint cooperation within the framework of the initiative, the creation of a global community with a common destiny and shared interests.”

Standing at 28 meters long, 4 meters wide and 6 meters wide, the bridge is constructed from 20,000 artificial amber bricks – a color holding symbolizm in both the East and the West. Inside each brick is a floral emblem made of silk, each representing a country or region situated along the Silk and Maritime Silk Roads, involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Collectively, the bricks present a scene from the Chinese phrase “let a hundred flowers bloom” – a saying used to express peaceful cultural diversity.

In 2017, the Golden Bridge was exhibited in front of the China National Convention Center as part of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. In 2019, the mayor of Astana invited Shu Yong to design and construct a second golden bridge for Kazakhstan, this time influenced by a famous Kazakh bridge. As the location of the 2013 launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, Yong believes it is the perfect city to establish the artwork, and consequently will further promote open dialogue between different cultures.