Su Bomin, vice president of Dunhuang Academy China, called for safeguarding cultural relics with digital tools at the Deputies' Corridor of this year's Two Sessions.

Su was among the National People's Congress (NPC) deputies who met the press and took questions at the Deputies' Corridor before the opening of the fourth annual session of the 13th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.

The NPC deputy, who is a researcher and protector of the cultural relics at the Mogao Grottoes, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, said the academy is applying for establishing a digital national library to better protect the abundant cultural relics along the ancient Silk Road.

"We also hope that the technological innovation of cultural relics can be put in a more prominent position in the science-and-technology part of the 14th Five-Year Plan, providing sufficient guarantee and more support [to cultural relics protection]," said Su.

Su's idea was cultivated from his long-term practice in the restoration, protection and digitization of the cultural relics at Dunhuang's Mogao Grottoes, which constructed started in 366 AD and it now houses more than 2,000 colored sculptures and 45,000 square meters of murals in 735 caves.

Noting that generations of workers and researchers have made life-long efforts to safeguarding the Mogao Grottoes, Su added that the Dunhuang Academy China has adopted cutting-edge technologies such as augmented reality and digital twin for better presentation to tourists with various virtual exhibitions launched online to introduce "the brightest pearl along the ancient Silk Road" to the world.

"Dunhuang is a treasure of China and the world," he noted, adding "we hope that through our efforts, Dunhuang will be introduced to the world."