Fan Jinshi, a noted Chinese expert on Dunhuang studies, said Wednesday in Dunhuang of Gansu that the country should make greater efforts to protect its cultural relics.
Fan, also president of the Dunhuang Academy, suggested that laws should be implemented to help protect cultural relics.
However, in recent years more and more modern buildings and commercial areas have been built around scenic spots, which has had a negative effect on cultural relics.
Fan's academy is in charge of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, considered the greatest repository of Buddhist art in the world. They were listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1987.
The grottoes contain more than 50,000 relics including Buddhist Sutras, documents, exquisite frescoes, dating back to the 4th century.
"The cultural relics of Dunhuang, especially that of the Mogao Grottoes, are not only the treasures of the Chinese nation, but are treasures that belong to the whole world," Fan said.
"Only by strictly protecting our cultural relics, can we leave them intact for future generations," the scholar stressed.
(People's Daily)
