Hong Kong —
As US and Israeli bombardments rained down on Iran, damaging some cherished cultural sites, scores of Persian artifacts were safe and sound, 5,000 kilometers away in northern China, under the watchful eye of Dong Bibing.
The museum curator is managing an exhibition of more than 150 Iranian antiques, from floral-patterned glassware to vivid, intricately designed carpets.
Since war broke out in late February, the show in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia province, had grown increasingly popular, as interest surges among Chinese people in a nearby nation and culture that rivals their own in its depth and ancientness.
Originally scheduled to end in March, it was…