The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is a world cultural heritage site located in northwest China's Gansu Province. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Mogao Grottoes on August 19.

Dunhuang culture

Dunhuang is a Chinese city that is surrounded by the Taklamakan Desert. The Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang is a shrine of Buddhist art treasures. Dunhuang culture is also known as Mogao Grottoes culture.

According to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) records, a monk named Lezun had a vision of a thousand Buddhas under showers of golden rays. Thus inspired, he started construction on the caves, which span 10 dynasties. The Mogao Grottoes are commonly known as the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas. 

The Mogao Grottoes comprises large grotto temples showcasing paintings, sculptures, architectural designs and murals. It is not only a splendid art treasure of ancient Chinese civilization but also an important witness to the communication between different civilizations on the ancient Silk Road. 

Digital protection

In 2016, the first phase of the Digital Dunhuang resource database went online. People from all over the world can enjoy high-definition images and panoramic tours of 30 caves on the Digital Dunhuang website, which shows a new idea of cultural relics protection philosophy. 

This project is pursuing overall digitization, including the collection, processing and storage of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and related cultural relics using advanced science and technology.  

Chinese tech giant Tencent cooperated with the Dunhuang Academy in 2017 to provide a new pattern for the digital development of the cultural industry. Digital Dunhuang integrates all kinds of data, including videos, 3D data, pictures and others, into a digital repository of cave cultural relics that can be shared globally over the internet.  

Although the Digital Dunhuang project has a long way to go, it has significant meaning to cultural heritage protection. 

(Cover image via VCG)