China News Service, Cairo, September 6. Title: I am very lucky to be a small connection between two ancient civilizations.
——Exclusive interview with Egyptian tour guide Mu Mu
China News Service reporter Xie Yanbing
On the afternoon of September 2, local time, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan visited the Grand Egyptian Museum accompanied by Egyptian President Sisi and his wife Itisal.
The Grand Egyptian Museum, located near the Giza Pyramids southwest of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is an important window to showcase ancient Egyptian civilization. In 2025, the world's largest single civilization museum, which took more than 20 years to build, was officially opened. It houses more than 100,000 cultural relics and attracts many tourists. Egyptian tour guide Mohammed Helal has been studying Chinese for more than 20 years, and now his job is to explain the Grand Egyptian Museum to Chinese tourists. Mu Mu recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to tell his story about China.
On August 31, 2026 local time, Mu Mu explained at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Photo by China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: Why did you choose to be a Chinese tour guide to tell about the history and culture of Egypt?
Mumu: I have always believed that the history and culture of Egypt should be told by Egyptians themselves, so that people with different cultural backgrounds can understand Egypt in their own way.
After learning Chinese, I discovered that language is not only a tool for communication, but also the key to understanding another culture. Chinese gives me the opportunity to introduce Egypt to Chinese friends, and it also allows me to stand from the perspective of Chinese tourists and think about what they want to know most and where they may cause misunderstandings.
Ancient Egyptian civilization has a history of thousands of years, but when many people come into contact with it for the first time, they may only think of pyramids, mummies and the "curse" of the Pharaoh. This is all part of Egyptian culture, of course, but Egypt is truly rich in much more. I hope that through Chinese, Chinese friends can see a more realistic and three-dimensional Egypt.
For me, the most meaningful thing is to see a Chinese tourist slowly change from "curious about Egypt" to "truly understanding Egypt". I often feel very lucky. Because I am not just a tour guide, I have also become a small connection between two ancient civilizations.
China News Service reporter: How long have you been studying Chinese? What is your relationship with China?
Mu Mu: I have been studying Chinese for more than 20 years. In 2006, I graduated from the Chinese Department of Ain Shams University in Egypt. I have been fond of language since I was a child. When I saw Chinese characters for the first time, I felt that they were very special. It is not like ordinary letters, but more like meaningful pictures. Later, when I really started learning Chinese, I slowly discovered that there is a profound culture behind Chinese characters.
My fate with China started from a competition. In 2004, I participated in a Chinese song competition held by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo and won first place. Because of this competition, I had the opportunity to go to China for the first time.
Over the years, I have participated in many cultural exchange activities between Egypt and China. In 2006, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and China, I also hosted a cultural evening party held in front of the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx Square. Later, I was fortunate to participate in activities related to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and China.
If I could describe my relationship with China in one sentence, I would say - China has become a very important part of my life story. I have always had a wish to write a book about my relationship with China in the future.
Mumu works at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Photo provided by interviewee
China News Service reporter: In your opinion, what are the similarities between Chinese civilization and ancient Egyptian civilization?
Mu Mu: Although Chinese civilization and ancient Egyptian civilization are thousands of miles apart, when we really understand them, we will find some interesting similarities.
First, both civilizations originated in rivers. Ancient Egypt had the Nile River, and China had the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Rivers not only bring water and fertile soil, but also affect agriculture, cities, society and even people's spiritual world. When I tell Chinese tourists about ancient Egypt, I often start with the Nile River. For Egypt, it is difficult to understand why ancient Egyptian civilization developed without understanding the Nile River.
Another thing is gold. In the Grand Egyptian Museum, Tutankhamun's golden mask is one of the cultural relics that many Chinese tourists are most looking forward to seeing. It uses 11 kilograms of gold and is inlaid with precious stones. The ancient Egyptians attached great importance to gold. Gold does not corrode as easily as ordinary metals. It not only represents wealth, but is also connected with the sun, eternity and life.
When I saw the gold mask at the Sanxingdui Museum in China, I was also thinking: Why did two civilizations so far apart once give gold such special meaning? Of course, we cannot simply say that there must be a direct connection between the two, but the similarity itself is very interesting. The most charming thing about civilizations is not "who influenced whom", but that different civilizations may come up with similar answers when faced with common problems.
In addition, in the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids of Giza can be seen through the huge glass curtain wall. Many people will say "This is the Pharaoh's pyramid", but if we truly understand the pyramid, we will find that it was actually created jointly by the entire ancient Egyptian society. The pharaoh may have been the central figure in the pyramids, but such a project would not have been possible without the organizational skills of craftsmen, farmers, transporters, architects, and society at large. So I prefer to understand the pyramid as a work completed by a civilization.
This is also what I find very interesting about the relationship between Egyptian and Chinese civilizations: we both attach great importance to the role of the people in the process of historical development.
On August 31, 2026 local time, Tutankhamun’s golden mask in the Grand Egyptian Museum. Photo by China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming
China News Service reporter: If you had to use a paragraph to invite others to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum, what would you say?
Mumu: I would say - if you really want to understand Egypt, don't just take a picture in front of the pyramids, make sure you go into the Grand Egyptian Museum.
When you walk in here, what you see is not just a few famous cultural relics, but the memory left by the entire civilization. You can start from the Nile River and learn how the ancient Egyptians lived and thought about death and life. You can also see why they built the pyramids, why they valued gold so much, and how they left their beliefs and thoughts in these cultural relics.
Moreover, when you stand in the museum and see the pyramids in the distance through the glass curtain wall, you will have a very special feeling - the cultural relics you just saw are no longer just things in the display cabinets, but are reconnected with the land in front of you. If you really want to understand Egypt, start here. (End)
Interviewee profile:
Mohammed Helal, born in 1984, graduated from the Chinese Department of Ain Shams University in Egypt in 2006. He has won first prizes in Chinese competitions many times, served as host of the "Hand in Hand" literary evening celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt, and as a Chinese translator for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
