Mogao replica not totally unwelcome
The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, may be "recreated" to save the real caves from suffering further damage. Despite tourists' complaints that they would be denied the chance of seeing the real Buddhist grottoes, we cannot compromise on conservation, says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpt:
The Dunhuang Academy, in charge of the administration and maintenance of the Mogao Grottoes, has got the central government's permission to spend 260 million yuan ($38.07 million) to replicate the historical grottoes.
The main aim of building a "Virtual Mogao Grottoes" is cutting down the number of visitors in order to protect the site, because experts say tourists could cause physical damage to the caves - and the frescoes, statues and other relics - by just standing in them. Their suggestion: the best way to protect the cultural heritage is to keep people away from it.
Though the "Virtual Mogao" is supposed to give people the same feeling as the real grottoes, people have been fiercely protesting against the idea, and tourists have said they wouldn't pay high admission fees to see the fake caves.
Behind the controversial "Virtual Mogao", however, there is a competition of different interests. Most visitors spend money to see only genuine historical relics. Yet in order to make fast money, some scenic spots have tried to please tourists even at the cost of overdeveloping and/or destroying a number of relics.
Since cultural relics cannot be recreated, we should accord priority to their protection even if it results in shrinking profits. And considering the importance of protecting historical relics and passing them down to the next generation, we shouldn't reject the replicas outright.
Some foreign countries have set us a good example by having stored the relics safely underground and making isometric models to attract visitors. Hence a "Virtual Mogao" may be a good effort to save the largest and best-preserved center of Buddhist art in the world.
(China Daily 10/20/2009 page9)
