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3-D Grottoes To Go Online

The ancient Mogao Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu Province will soon be accessible to 'visitors' around the world. The Chinese Government is to invest 200 million yuan (US$24.1 million) in building a digital virtual Mogao Grottoes in an attempt to protect the most famous of the Dunhuang Grotto relics, which boast over 1,000 Buddha sculptures. Sources with the Gansu Cultural Relics Bureau said the plan had been designed and approved by the China Design and Research Institute.

Entering the virtual grottoes, visitors can see all the constructions, painted sculptures and frescos clearly. Moreover, details that cannot be seen clearly in natural light and frescos obscured by structures in the real grottoes can be viewed clearly in the virtual ones.

The director of the Gansu Cultural Relics Bureau said that since 1999, the Mogao Grottoes have witnessed a five percent year-on-year increase of visitors. The daily number of visitors can surpass over 5,000 at the peak season.

The grottoes, one of China's World Heritage sites, are being damaged by carbon dioxide and moisture exhaled by visitors, which raises the temperature and humidity and harms frescos.

Sixty grottoes will open to visitors on alternate days so as to protect them from overexposure to moisture and carbon dioxide.