Memphis Sets Spring Tourism Table With Fine China Memphis, home of
Graceland, The Firm, and Beale Street jazz, is also becoming a major
center for art and antiquities. This spring, the landmark Peabody Hotel
is working with Wonders, a distinguised local cultural organization, to
promote the Imperial Tombs of China. 18 Chinese museums from nine
provinces are sending selected objects, many of the national treasures,
to be displayed in a unique, original setting befitting their
importance. Included are sever al of the full-size terra cotta warriors
frm Xi'an, along with the Tomb-Quelling Beast from the Tang Dynasty, and
a complete Qing Dynasty throne room from the Shenyang Palace. The
exhibit is curated by Lei Congyun, deputy director of the China Cultural
Relics promotion center. National Geographic will produce a special
audio lecture and tape tour narrated by a familiar celebrity. After its
initial opening at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, the exhibit will
tour several cities -- Portland, Oregon, Provo, Utah, and Denver,
Colorado. But the preferred place of viewing should be Memphis, where
Wonders, which also has produced Catherine the Great, Splendors of the
Ottoman Sultans, and Napoleon, among other detailed historical exhibits,
will literally turn 25,000 square feet of convention space into ancient
tomb complexes and other exciting environments. The Imperial Tombs will
be in Memphis from April 18 - Sept. 18. For tickets call 1-800-2
MEMPHIS, or call your local TicketMaster. In keeping with their
longstanding interest in promoting the City's cultural heritage, the
Peabody Hotel, home of the daily Duck March, (A resident family of ducks
makes a daily parade to the tune of a Sousa march into their lobby pond)
is offering a special Imperial Stay package which includes $35 off of
regular rates for a single night for two, a pair of tickets to the
Exhibit, and complimentary transportation to and from the Convention
Center. For reservations and information call 1-800-PEABODY.