Heritage preservation fueled by opening-up

The tide of China's opening-up has been a great help for the preservation of Dunhuang's ancient relics, according to the city's head of cultural heritage protection.

The government opened Dunhuang, Gansu province, as a window to the outside world in 1979. The original Dunhuang Museum was built to showcase ancient tools, paintings and other archaeological finds.

"In past times, cultural treasures were displayed in crude glass cabinets, and the museum building was quite shabby," said Shi Mingxiu, director of Dunhuang's cultural heritage administration. "But in 2012 we opened a new museum that covers 7,500 square meters and features the architectural style of a Great Wall beacon tower."