Cao Zhen

caozhen0806@126.com

A LARGE-SCALE exhibition featuring Mogao Grottoes artworks reproduced using digital technologies will open Sept. 22 at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning in Futian District, according to a press conference held Tuesday.

Titled “The Connection Between Dunhuang Aesthetics and the World,” the exhibition will showcase more than 100 Mogao Grottoes artworks reproduced with digital technologies alongside four replicated caves. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the distinctive essence of Dunhuang art at the free exhibition.

“The Mogao Grottoes, with their diverse, universal, and timeless allure transcending space, are a globally renowned cultural treasure that epitomizes the excellence of traditional Chinese culture,” said Su Bomin, director of Dunhuang Academy, at the press conference.

“In line with our mission to promote Dunhuang culture and narrate China’s stories, the Dunhuang Academy has embraced science and technology to protect the grottoes and showcase the profound significance of Dunhuang culture. The forthcoming exhibition will provide visitors with a close encounter with Dunhuang art, enabling them to sense the connection between Dunhuang aesthetics and the world,” Su added.

The event is hosted by Dunhuang Academy and China Dunhuang Grottoes Conservation Research Foundation, and organized by Dunhuang • Chinese Succession Special Purposed Fund and Jingwan Digital Culture, Science and Technology Co. Ltd.

Wang Hai, chairman of Dunhuang • Chinese Succession Special Purposed Fund, said that visitors will not only appreciate artworks at the exhibition but also gain insights into how digital technologies contribute to preserving and passing on the Dunhuang civilization. Moreover, the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe has been invited to perform as a side event during the exhibition.

During the press conference, Shandong Xintai Water Treatment Technology Co. Ltd. donated 1 million yuan (US$138,268) to Dunhuang • Chinese Succession Special Purposed Fund for the research and preservation of digitalized murals of the Mogao Grottoes. Yang Xiuqing, a researcher at the Dunhuang Academy, delivered a lecture on Dunhuang art and its historical value.

Lai Runze, director of Dunhuang • Chinese Succession Special Purposed Fund’s GBA Office, said that the fund, operated by China Dunhuang Grottoes Conservation Research Foundation, will further use advanced technologies to facilitate the digitalization of lost Dunhuang relics located overseas.

The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province, hold the prestigious title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Positioned along the ancient Silk Road, where Chinese civilization intersected with world civilizations, Dunhuang served not only as a vital hub for trade but also as a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures. Artifacts in the Mogao Grottoes reflect the cultural exchanges among various ethnic groups in the 4th-14th centuries.

Modern digital technology continues to support the preservation of these cultural relics. Through Dunhuang Academy’s “Digital Dunhuang” project, visitors around the world can relish high-definition mural images and manuscripts, access the ancient caves virtually, and immerse themselves in reproduced caves.