National Museum of China [Photo via tuchong.com]

A banquet inspired by the Maritime Silk Road in the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties is on display at the National Museum of China in Beijing. It's housed in a newly upgraded section of the "Ancient Chinese Food Culture" exhibition.

The banquet is a 3D replica of the original, from the dishes and utensils used to the table settings. It includes the best cuisine from Fujian Province, where the dishes are known for their light, fresh taste.

"This time we have introduced a special exhibition – a banquet on the theme of the Maritime Silk Road – with the aim of enriching and improving our original content of ancient Chinese food culture," said curator Wang Yuehan. "We are now using more content to complement our presentation. The replica dishes are well made, very close to the real ones. So it will be an enjoyable experience for visitors."

The banquet was inspired by the classic cookbook "Shan Jia Qing Gong," written nearly 900 years ago by Lin Hong, a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) gastronome from Fujian's Shishi. The title is believed to be a nod to the light vegetables served to guests by families living in mountainous areas.

The cookbook is a collection of family cooking recipes. Every course includes stories about history, literature and the wisdom of keeping good health. It can be seen as "a taste of China" during the Southern Song Dynasty. 

"This exhibition mainly shows the cuisine of the Song and Yuan dynasties, because this marked the (culinary) peak in terms of China's ancient history," said Zheng Tianzhu, director of publicity for Shishi.

"We want to bring a snapshot of traditional food culture to the people of today. The banquet also incorporates the flavors of southern Fujian cuisine."

The exhibition features more than 240 relics, charting the changes of China's culinary culture centuries ago.