“敦煌女儿”樊锦诗：用一生去守望 | Modern tech saves China's UNESCO caves

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A thousand years’ accumulated artistry makes Mogao Caves stand out from other historical sites. Here, the art tells a story and life is preserved in the paint.

Yu Qiuyu, Chinese writer

莫高窟可以傲视异邦古迹的地方，就在于它是一千多年的层层累聚。看莫高窟，不是看死了一千年的标本，而是看活了一千年的生命。

中国当代作家 余秋雨

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The magnificent land of Buddha, the merciful Bodhisattva, the dynamic Apsaras, the gorgeous ornamentation…… everything about Dunhuang could take the visitors’ breath away.

壮美的佛国、仁慈的菩萨、灵动的飞天、富丽的纹饰……敦煌的一切都能让游客屏气凝神、流连忘返。

The mystery in northwest China, the grand gallery in the desert, the incomparable art, and extensive and profound culture help the site become a popular tourist attraction.  

西北未知的神秘，沙漠中的大画廊，无以伦比的艺术，博大精深的文化，让人心驰神往。

As the number of tourists increases, the narrow caves and the fragile frescos have been over-worked.Tourism has become the biggest potential hazard for Mogao Caves. Every visitor brings change to the temperature, humidity even atmosphere in the cave, which could result in speeding up the aging of the frescos.

海内外无数游客慕名而至，狭小洞窟和脆弱的壁画开始不堪重负，每一件都像岌岌可危的病人，游客的参观成为莫高窟最大的隐患。每一位游客的驻足，都影响着洞窟内的温度和湿度，而这会加速壁画的老化。

Comparing with images taken in 1940, evidence of decay can be found on those pieces. Their beauty was ruined by time and could not be restored even under professional maintenance and repair.

如果拿今天的实物和20世纪40年代留下的文物影像比对，就会发现那些精美的洞窟壁画正在悄然损毁。即便经过精心的维护和修理，也无法回到它原来的模样。

“There are 6 standards for World Cultural Heritages, and only two places in the world could meet them all: Venice and Mogao Caves. We must protect Mogao Caves for the country. But we are losing them as time goes by.” Fan Jinshi, President of Dunhuang Research Academy told the press. Fan wants to let more people know that the treasure is suffering from all kinds of hazards and they would eventually disappear.

敦煌研究院院长樊锦诗说：“世界文化遗产有6条标准，全世界就两处符合全部6条：威尼斯和莫高窟。我们要为国家保存它。这些真迹，随着时间的推移慢慢就丢失了。”樊锦诗想让更多人知道，这样绝美的稀世珍宝，一直遭受着这样那样的伤害，并且不可抗拒的，最终会消失。

How could these treasures of art fight against time? Restricting the number of visitors could not be the permanently solution. It came to Fan that they should use some modern technology.

沙漠中的艺术瑰宝怎样才能经得住时光的损毁？限制人数只能治标不治本。既想让更多的人欣赏敦煌的美丽与震撼，又能够保护传承不易的瑰宝，樊锦诗想到了利用现代技术。

Dunhuang Research Academy spent 4 years and 300 million yuan (roughly 44 million US dollars) to create a project called “Digital Dunhuang”. It gathers, processes and saves Dunhuang frescos and painted sculpture with digital technology to achieve the permanent preservation of Dunhuang artworks.

敦煌研究院历时4年时间，投资3亿多元，终于打造出"数字敦煌"项目。“数字敦煌”利用计算机数字化技术，高保真地采集、处理、存储敦煌壁画和彩塑的珍贵资料，实现了敦煌文物的永久保存。

According to Fan, Digital Dunhuang recreates the frescos in the caves with digital film. Visitors can not only know the history of Mogao Caves but also enjoy and worship the Dunhuang artworks in the cinema, which would bring about better experience and clearer view than being inside the caves.

樊锦诗说，“数字敦煌”通过球幕电影再现敦煌艺术的经典内容，游客不仅可以通过电影了解莫高窟的历史背景，还能在影院身临其境欣赏敦煌艺术之美，这比在洞内欣赏要清楚得多，体验更好。

The development of Digital Dunhuang shows visitors the charm of art in another way and shortens the visiting time of the tourists inside the actual caves. This could help keep the frescos under protection.

“数字敦煌”的建立，用另一种方式让游客感到了敦煌艺术的魅力。不仅视觉效果更震撼，而且压缩了洞内参观的时间，让莫高窟神韵永存。

Perhaps, we should be grateful as we can still see the beauty of these treasures before it is too late and they disappear.

或许能在这一切美好的事物彻底消失之前，能看到它依然美丽的面貌，我们就应该心存感激。

Cameraman: Zhang Fengchao 

Film editing: Lu Gengrui, Li Zelong 

Story written by: Zhu Siqi 

English editor: John Goodrich, Matthew Watson

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