For those who can's visit, grottoes come to them

Cai Zhuting, a law student at Wuhan University and a volunteer guide for the exhibition, said it represents "a good chance to get a close look at the relics, even though it is challenging to memorize the guide transcripts."

Beyond Wuhan, residents in Beijing also can experience close observation at home of the digitized Dunhuang. Since July, a three-year exhibition of Dunhuang has been open to public at the National Base for International Cultural Trade in the capital. It includes murals, grottoes, painted sculptures and other items of cultural heritage.