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Located in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, the Mogao Grottoes is one of three most noted grottoes found in China. It is also one of the largest, bestpreserved and richest sites of Buddhist art in the world.
Here, 735 grottoes of different sizes are scattered along a 1,600-meter cliff. The murals housed inside them feature myriad artistic styles from many dynasties.
For many visitors, though, the gorgeous history on display is not the only surprising feature at the site. It’s also the sheer amount of measures in place meant to protect the art. The murals are delicate and struggle to survive amidst booming tourism.
The grottoes can only receive 2 million tourists annually, since carbon dioxide exhaled by people accelerates deterioration of the murals. Apparatuses have been set up to monitor humidity inside each grotto, and grottoes will be closed if any recorded number crosses the standard line.
There are several different possible tour routes to cover 10 of Dunhuang’s grottoes. Together, these 10 represent all of the artistic periods found among the site’s hundreds of other grottoes. With one ticket purchase, a tourist will find himself or herself set up with a professional guide, on his or her way to learning more about Buddhist history.
Liu Hongli is a grottoes guide. Her job is twofold. She explains the history and religious meaning behind the murals, and—perhaps more importantly—she unlocks and then locks the wooden doors that protect the art inside the caves. Unlike the murals, these doors aren’t relics of the past; they were built relatively recently. No one may enter through them without permission.
Liu and her colleagues are not typical tour guides. To be a key-holder at the grottoes, a graduate degree is required along with a deep knowledge of history, art and religion in order to understand the value of the Mogao Grottoes.
According to Liu, among the more than 400 grottoes housing murals and sculptures, only 40 are open to tourists.
Soon, she says, this number will be halved when the new exhibition hall is finished outside the Mogao Grottoes. It will take no longer than two years. The new hall will give visitors a chance to experience the grottoes in three dimensions (3D).
This news may disappoint Mogao admirers. But even this protection cannot compete with natural erosion in the grottoes as time passes, explains Sun Xuehu, an official with the Dunhuang City Government. Still, he says, “I bet they are the least commercialized historical relics in the country.”
Seeking solutions
Not all historical sites are as lucky as the Mogao Grottoes. In fact, most face a grim fate.
According to official statistics, around 40,000 heritage sites have disappeared in the past three decades. Excessive commercialization for tourism purposes has been one of the major causes of their demise.
As a city in northwest China, Dunhuang used to be a shining star on the renowned Silk Road, where Western and Eastern cultures first met. The city has over 240 historical relics, including passes on the Great Wall, old theaters, temples and ancient graves.
But most of these are not actual tourist sites yet, and they remain unknown to many visitors. There is not even a road for people to access these locations, which are mostly on the outskirts of the city. Tourism, in this respect, is lagging behind here.
In order to legitimize their value, commercial exploitation is no doubt the best choice. Given the general dangers these sites face, government investment is the most effective way to secure them. But this process is not an easy one.
“The biggest problem is lack of money and personnel,” explains Zhao Zhiying, head of the Dunhuang Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Local government officials agree. “What local government offers cannot meet the requirements,” says Zhang Xiaoliang, a city official. “Until now, many projects have relied on state investment. But it’s still not enough.”
Because it’s in a relatively underdeveloped area in China, Dunhuang is a city still struggling to see its economy catch up with other big cities in the country.
“The tight budget of our local government can only cover basic municipal operations,”explains Zhang. In such an environment, spending money on “the past” seems too great a luxury.
Zhang believes that it is time to find a way to have private funds play a part in historical preservation.
But investment is always benefit-oriented, and this may ultimately hurt sites like the Mogao Grottoes. Past mishaps can be easily found around China. Considering these factors, the local government seems quite cautious.
“You have to let companies benefit from, but not hurt, the relics,” says Zhang. “It’s important to have strict standards for tourism development at these sites.”
A successful model
Commercialization of the Yangguan Pass serves as a good example. It is situated in the southwest of Dunhuang. Thousands of years ago, it was the main gateway connecting central China and the west. But over the years, the pass has been covered with desert sand.
In 2000, Ji Yongyuan, a scholar from the Dunhuang Academy, put together plans to build a private museum next to the Yangguan Pass. It took him 10 years to get his blueprints and budget together. Now open, the museum is filled with historical relics related to the pass. Visitors now number in the millions each year.
But Zhao says it’s not an example that can be widely duplicated. Not all cultural heritage projects can be lucky enough to have a man who is rich in both knowledge and funding.
“We have to figure out different ways to deal with different situations,” says Zhao.
Dunhuang government allowed private companies to invest in building roads linking the heritage sites to the city’s downtown, to encourage more tourism. In similar cases, companies are able to share in a certain percentage of ticket revenue.
“Cooperation with companies can be a win-win strategy,” notes Zhao.
Knowing the problems caused by commercialization, though, she stays alert about private capital. The bottom line, Zhao says, is that a company can invest in support facilities, but definitely nothing that involves touching any relics. “Protection is always the top priority.”
More than 5,000 years of civilization has left China with around 700,000 historical heritage sites across the country. These precious treasures and landmarks have become the motivating force behind the nation’s booming tourism. As commercialism poses a threat against their protection, finding a balance between the past and the forces of modernity is a task that China must now undertake.
Here, 735 grottoes of different sizes are scattered along a 1,600-meter cliff. The murals housed inside them feature myriad artistic styles from many dynasties.
For many visitors, though, the gorgeous history on display is not the only surprising feature at the site. It’s also the sheer amount of measures in place meant to protect the art. The murals are delicate and struggle to survive amidst booming tourism.
The grottoes can only receive 2 million tourists annually, since carbon dioxide exhaled by people accelerates deterioration of the murals. Apparatuses have been set up to monitor humidity inside each grotto, and grottoes will be closed if any recorded number crosses the standard line.
There are several different possible tour routes to cover 10 of Dunhuang’s grottoes. Together, these 10 represent all of the artistic periods found among the site’s hundreds of other grottoes. With one ticket purchase, a tourist will find himself or herself set up with a professional guide, on his or her way to learning more about Buddhist history.
Liu Hongli is a grottoes guide. Her job is twofold. She explains the history and religious meaning behind the murals, and—perhaps more importantly—she unlocks and then locks the wooden doors that protect the art inside the caves. Unlike the murals, these doors aren’t relics of the past; they were built relatively recently. No one may enter through them without permission.
Liu and her colleagues are not typical tour guides. To be a key-holder at the grottoes, a graduate degree is required along with a deep knowledge of history, art and religion in order to understand the value of the Mogao Grottoes.
According to Liu, among the more than 400 grottoes housing murals and sculptures, only 40 are open to tourists.
Soon, she says, this number will be halved when the new exhibition hall is finished outside the Mogao Grottoes. It will take no longer than two years. The new hall will give visitors a chance to experience the grottoes in three dimensions (3D).
This news may disappoint Mogao admirers. But even this protection cannot compete with natural erosion in the grottoes as time passes, explains Sun Xuehu, an official with the Dunhuang City Government. Still, he says, “I bet they are the least commercialized historical relics in the country.”
Seeking solutions
Not all historical sites are as lucky as the Mogao Grottoes. In fact, most face a grim fate.
According to official statistics, around 40,000 heritage sites have disappeared in the past three decades. Excessive commercialization for tourism purposes has been one of the major causes of their demise.
As a city in northwest China, Dunhuang used to be a shining star on the renowned Silk Road, where Western and Eastern cultures first met. The city has over 240 historical relics, including passes on the Great Wall, old theaters, temples and ancient graves.
But most of these are not actual tourist sites yet, and they remain unknown to many visitors. There is not even a road for people to access these locations, which are mostly on the outskirts of the city. Tourism, in this respect, is lagging behind here.
In order to legitimize their value, commercial exploitation is no doubt the best choice. Given the general dangers these sites face, government investment is the most effective way to secure them. But this process is not an easy one.
“The biggest problem is lack of money and personnel,” explains Zhao Zhiying, head of the Dunhuang Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Local government officials agree. “What local government offers cannot meet the requirements,” says Zhang Xiaoliang, a city official. “Until now, many projects have relied on state investment. But it’s still not enough.”
Because it’s in a relatively underdeveloped area in China, Dunhuang is a city still struggling to see its economy catch up with other big cities in the country.
“The tight budget of our local government can only cover basic municipal operations,”explains Zhang. In such an environment, spending money on “the past” seems too great a luxury.
Zhang believes that it is time to find a way to have private funds play a part in historical preservation.
But investment is always benefit-oriented, and this may ultimately hurt sites like the Mogao Grottoes. Past mishaps can be easily found around China. Considering these factors, the local government seems quite cautious.
“You have to let companies benefit from, but not hurt, the relics,” says Zhang. “It’s important to have strict standards for tourism development at these sites.”
A successful model
Commercialization of the Yangguan Pass serves as a good example. It is situated in the southwest of Dunhuang. Thousands of years ago, it was the main gateway connecting central China and the west. But over the years, the pass has been covered with desert sand.
In 2000, Ji Yongyuan, a scholar from the Dunhuang Academy, put together plans to build a private museum next to the Yangguan Pass. It took him 10 years to get his blueprints and budget together. Now open, the museum is filled with historical relics related to the pass. Visitors now number in the millions each year.
But Zhao says it’s not an example that can be widely duplicated. Not all cultural heritage projects can be lucky enough to have a man who is rich in both knowledge and funding.
“We have to figure out different ways to deal with different situations,” says Zhao.
Dunhuang government allowed private companies to invest in building roads linking the heritage sites to the city’s downtown, to encourage more tourism. In similar cases, companies are able to share in a certain percentage of ticket revenue.
“Cooperation with companies can be a win-win strategy,” notes Zhao.
Knowing the problems caused by commercialization, though, she stays alert about private capital. The bottom line, Zhao says, is that a company can invest in support facilities, but definitely nothing that involves touching any relics. “Protection is always the top priority.”
More than 5,000 years of civilization has left China with around 700,000 historical heritage sites across the country. These precious treasures and landmarks have become the motivating force behind the nation’s booming tourism. As commercialism poses a threat against their protection, finding a balance between the past and the forces of modernity is a task that China must now undertake.