BRUSSELS, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- "It's splendid and fantastic!" said Sophie De Laire standing before the jade shroud of one of the princes from the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- 220 AD). De Laire came from Paris to Brussels to see the Sons of Heaven exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

As a centerpiece of the Europalia China art festival opened here on Thursday, the Sons of Heaven brought together two hundred works of art around Chinese emperors, who were called Tianzi in Chinese to show the link between the sky, the earth and mankind.

A visitor looks at Chinese cultural relics shown in the multimedia presentation during the "Son of heaven" exhibition, part of the Europalia China art festival, at the Center for Fine Arts in Brussels, capital of Belgium, Oct. 8, 2009. The four-month-long Europalia China art festival, kicking off here on Thursday, will offer the European audience an unique opportunity to get to know all aspects of Chinese culture and lifestyle. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

The works range from the establishment of the first settlements in the Neolithic era, via the royal monarchies of the Bronze Age, right up to the splendor of the last ruling dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644 --1911). They came from 20 museums and archeological institutes from 7 provinces and cities in China. Some of the collections on display have never been shown before outside China.