CHENGDU, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The meeting between 100,000 millennium-old cliff carvings and modern technologies, like 3D scanning and holographic projection, has proved a fruitful interaction between past and present in Anyue County, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Previously, people had to venture into the deep countryside to witness these cultural relics from the Tang and Song dynasties. Today, a 7.13-hectare digital exhibition center makes the carvings more accessible to visitors.
In the exhibition hall at this center, innovative technologies such as mapping projection, gesture sensing, brainwave interaction and AI algorithms breathe vivid new life into age-old Buddhas and murals. Notably, a four-panel immersive cinema and a 3D-8K dome theater offer visitors excellent audiovisual experiences.
Since its trial operation in May this year, the Anyue Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center, a culture-and-tourism complex dedicated to digital conservation, display and interaction of grottoes, has already drawn more than 150,000 visitors -- with daily visits topping 3,000 during the 2025 summer holiday period.
"Anyue enjoys exceptional geography and geology," said a staff member at the Anyue Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center.
Rolling hills dominate the landscape in Anyue, and the bedrock is mostly light-brown or grey sandstone of moderate hardness, which is widely distributed. The county also has abundant resources when it comes to gravel and cliffs. All these characteristics are very suitable for large-scale stone carvings.
Anyue is home to nearly 500 grotto-temple sites -- ten of which are listed as national key cultural relics protection sites -- and hosts more than 100,000 cliff carvings and almost 400,000 characters featured in cliff sutras.
Hailed by scholars as the pinnacle of China's late-period grotto art endeavors and the definitive example of southern Chinese grottoes, the Anyue grottoes have been inscribed on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage.
"Every township here has grotto statues," said Xie Yang, head of the Anyue Grottoes Research Institute. However, these grottoes face risks posed by water damage, weathering and fissures.
Carved into red sandstone, the Anyue grottoes are highly vulnerable to weathering and erosion. Compounded by southern China's humid climate, the grottoes have long been plagued by destructive natural factors such as water runoff, invasive root systems and wind abrasion.
Many of the grotto temples across the county are located in remote rural areas and hills -- posing huge challenges in terms of daily inspection, protection, management and the coverage of protective facilities, according to Xie.
In 2018, the county issued a local regulation to protect the grottoes. Over the years, Anyue has carried out more than 20 cross-departmental inspections and eliminated three major hidden dangers in the cases of facilities which had collapsed or been damaged due to years of disrepair.
The county has also cooperated with Peking University, Zhejiang University and Sichuan University in carrying out archaeological investigations and research to enhance scientific capabilities and technical levels regarding protection and utilization of grottoes.
The protection of grottoes is an interdisciplinary project, said Xie. "Thus we must establish a multidisciplinary cooperation mechanism pooling the talent of petrology, history and archaeology."
Xie said her institute has employed 17 researchers with master's degrees and four university graduates majoring in cultural relics.
"We have about 3,500 guardians of cultural relics," Xie revealed. "And we make sure that every grotto site has a guardian."
Additionally, Anyue has set up a dedicated fund for the conservation of grotto relics and rolled out a comprehensive security upgrade, equipping 177 key grotto-temple sites with round-the-clock video surveillance.
Anyue has promised to continue its tech-driven conservation efforts, including the use of high-precision 3D scanning and digital modeling.
"We will also establish a database for the grotto temples, in order to create permanent digital archives for cultural relics that can be used for exhibition, monitoring and virtual restoration," Xie noted.
She disclosed that they are making preparations for micro-trace extraction to be applied to the sutras.
Some of the digital achievements of Anyue's grotto protection efforts will be showcased on a mini-program by the end of this year, allowing netizens to explore these stone masterpieces up close, Xie added.
SOURCE/AUTHOR : XIN HUA NEWS
No third party should interfere in territory, maritime disputes: Chinese FM spokesperson
S&P Global Ratings' affirmation of China outlook reflects recognition of country's economic resilience
China aims to achieve breakthroughs in brain-computer interface technology by 2027
Rescue underway after mountain torrents leave 10 dead, 33 missing in NW China's Gansu
With independent customs operation, Hainan Free Trade Port poised to pioneer China's high-standard opening up
Xi urges all-out rescue efforts after Gansu mountain torrents cause heavy casualties
China activates Level-IV emergency response for flood control in 5 provincial-level regions
Across China: North China night market offers a cyberpunk feast for the eyes and the stomach
Think tank report highlights China's ecological governance innovation, global impact
Chinese scientists develop smart surveillance system to control mosquito-borne diseases
Letter from China: Robots take center stage at Beijing expo, pointing to tech revolution
China Focus: Paired assistance program improves access to quality health care for Xizang residents
Column: China-proposed global AI cooperation organization expected to narrow global tech gap
Factbox: China witnesses remarkable progress in data sector in 14th Five-Year Plan period
China urges Japan to be prudent on historical issues such as Yasukuni Shrine: spokesperson
Books of Xi's discourses on adhering to deepening reform comprehensively published
Chengdu World Games closes, highlighting inclusiveness, sustainability, innovation
Xinhua Headlines: Host city of 2025 World Games unfolds new vitality in opening wider to globe
Uzbek edition of "Xi Jinping: On Respecting and Protecting Human Rights" launched in Uzbekistan
China Focus: China's expanding national park system delivers breakthroughs in wildlife conservation
Xinhua Headlines: China's factories trade smoke for sustainability through green innovation
Xi urges concerted efforts for modernization when meeting representatives from across Xizang
Tourist train with elderly-friendly modifications departs from Harbin for grassland trip
Xinhua Headlines: Setting sail again from China, SCO charts course for shared future
Xinhua Headlines: Expo facilitates smart, green cooperation between China, Arab states
Update: China int'l trade representative holds talks with U.S. officials, business representatives
(V-Day) Xi Focus: Xi hails "unstoppable" national rejuvenation at V-Day commemorations
Xi Focus: Xi addresses V-Day reception, stressing justice, peace, people's strength
Commemorative stamps issued to mark 80th anniversary of victory against Japanese aggression, fascism
Xinhua Headlines: Xi makes three proposals at virtual BRICS Summit to cement solidarity, advance cooperation
Solar panels light the way to rural revitalization in China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Over 2,000 exhibitors join expo highlighting vitality of China's culture, tourism industries
Sand control projects launched to improve ecological environment of Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia
China Focus: 2,200-yr-old engraved stone discovery illuminates Chinese civilization on
Xinhua Commentary: Free trade, AI make China-ASEAN economic cooperation closer, more fruitful
Major Xinjiang port handles over 7,000 China-Europe freight train trips this year
SichuanMosaics | First mountain and lake circling festival of Lugu Lake kicks off in SW China's Sichuan
China's V-Day commemorations enhance confidence in advancing national rejuvenation: Xi
China's Hani terraces illustrate the Chinese philosophy of living in harmony with nature
Xinhua Headlines: Chinese commemorate outbreak of war against Japanese aggression with hopes for peace
Explainer: Why the September 18th Incident was a key event in the World Anti-Fascist War
Economic Watch: U.S. high-tech firms upbeat about manufacuture investment in China
Xinhua Headlines: Jingdezhen: China's ancient porcelain capital turns young and chic
Xi leads central delegation to Urumqi for 70th anniversary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
South China's Guangdong raises emergency response to highest for approaching typhoon
Xi's Album | Xi leaves for Beijing after attending celebrations for Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's 70th founding anniversary
Xi attends grand gathering in celebration of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's 70th founding anniversary
13th China (Mianyang) Science and Technology City Int'l High-Tech Expo opens in China's Sichuan
Xinhua Headlines: World's highest bridge opens to traffic in China's mountainous southwest
China Focus: Million-year-old skull from central China rewrites human evolution timeline
Update: China expected to handle 2.36 billion passenger trips in upcoming holiday
Update: China's water conservancy investment to exceed 5.4 trln yuan during 2021-2025 period
China Focus: Honoring WWII victory, China gains strength for national rejuvenation
GLOBALink | African attendees to internet forum seek deeper cooperation with China
China Focus: Innovative cultural tourism heats up China's eight-day holiday market
China's transportation network sees travel peak on 1st day of National Day holiday
China achieves milestone in compact fusion project with key component installation
Xinhua Headlines: From logging to guardianship: How China protects green source of its
China's 2025 box office surpasses 2024's full-year gross, with local films dominating
GLOBALink | Global insiders discuss circus arts and performance in China's circus festival
Xinhua Headlines: How small county in north China becomes magnet for global acrobats
Enhe Village in China's Inner Mongolia draws tourists with blend of Chinese-Russian culture
Tourist destinations across China see surge in visitors during National Day holiday
Economy&life | Eight-day holiday in China sees unprecedented people flows, consumption nationwide
Xinhua Headlines: Gaza conflict -- Two years of devastation and dim prospects ahead
60"FlyOverChina | Nature's red carpet unrolled: Biodiversity haven in Shandong's coastal wetlands
Xinhua Headlines: Surge in Chinese holiday travelers boosts European tourism, cultural exchanges
China logs 2.4 billion cross-regional passenger trips during holiday travel surge
Column: From Beijing to Beijing: 30 years on, the song of women's empowerment rings clearer and louder
Participants attend opening ceremony of Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing
China Focus: 2,300-year-old Chinese silk manuscripts finally return home after decades abroad
Xinhua Commentary: More joint action needed to promote women's development worldwide
Across China: Beyond the steel span -- world's highest bridge uplifting China's mountainous southwest
Economic Watch: China's core inflation hits 19-month high, signaling firmer domestic demand
Explainer: How China fosters growth, innovation amidst global uncertainties through past Five-Year Plan
Xinhua Headlines: China's economy shows stable growth trend with positive factors accumulating
Xinhua Headlines: CPC plenum concludes, adopting recommendations for China's 15th Five-Year Plan
Chinese scientists make breakthroughs in longer-lasting, safer solid-state batteries
Chinese, African experts join force to advance collaboration on food security, agricultural modernization
Xinhua Headlines: Charting a new chapter for Asia-Pacific development through unity, responsibility
Economic Watch: FAW-Volkswagen marks 30 millionth car as China's auto confidence grows
Xi says China ready to work with Japan to build constructive, stable bilateral relations
Xi says China ready to strengthen synergy of development strategies with Thailand, share development experience in new era
Three Gorges project generates over 423 bln kWh of electricity in past five years
GLOBALink | Scholars explore global perspective on China's war of resistance against Japanese aggression
Chinese scientists conduct detailed analysis of key water source in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Leave a Comment