April 24 marks China Space Day. On April 23, the 2026 Space Culture and Arts Forum was held in Chengdu. The Jinsha Site Museum was invited to deliver a keynote presentation, creating a dialogue across time and space between the Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament from 3,000 years ago and China’s modern space program.

As the emblem of Chengdu city, the Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament is not only a significant symbol of the ancient Shu civilization, but also a reflection of the ancient Shu people’s cosmic philosophy. The twelve rotating rays in the inner layer of the pattern represent the sun, while the four flying birds in the outer layer vividly interpret the myth of "the golden crow carrying the sun", expressing the Chinese people’s age-old longing for the universe and the heavens.

The Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament has long shared a special connection with space exploration. In 2005, a piece of Shu embroidery featuring the Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament motif was carried into space aboard the Shenzhou VI spacecraft. In 2022, the “Jinsha,” China’s first museum-themed aircraft, took to the skies, allowing the Sun Bird to soar once again.

From the ancient Shu people gazing up at the sky to China’s 70-year journey of reaching for deep space, the dream of flight has never faded. The Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament remains one of the most romantic cultural footnotes to this journey.