Guo Qinglin still remembers a visit to Yumen Pass not long after he joined the Dunhuang Academy in 1999, in Dunhuang, Gansu province. He had followed senior colleagues to inspect the strategic Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) fort, a vital gateway on the ancient Silk Road, and nearby sections of the Great Wall in Gansu. As he watched the crumbling fortifications, he noticed the expression on Li Zuixiong's (1941-2019) face grow increasingly grave.
"We cannot let such heritage disappear on our watch. We must accelerate research and development of conservation techniques for earthen sites," he recalls Li, then deputy director of the academy, saying.
That moment set Guo on a path from geology graduate to one of the world's leading experts in the conservation of earthen sites. Now 50, Guo is director of the academy which oversees the Mogao Caves — a UNESCO World Heritage site comprising hundreds of Buddhist caves adorned with murals and statues dating from the 4th to the 14th centuries. Over the years, he has watched the academy's conservation capabilities steadily evolve. Today, he leads his colleagues in sharing their expertise abroad, helping safeguard treasures that belong to all of humanity.
Guo's entry into the field was almost accidental. After graduating with a degree in geology from Lanzhou University in Gansu, Guo was introduced to the Dunhuang Academy by his teacher. At the time, he had only a vague sense that cultural heritage protection was something "sacred".
"I remember I told Wang Xudong, who worked as a staff member recruiting graduates from my university and later became director of the academy, that I didn't know much about cultural heritage conservation," Guo recalls. "He replied, 'That's okay. You can learn gradually'."
Conditions at the academy were tough in those days. Located on the outskirts of Dunhuang, the institution had limited amenities, and staff members could take a shuttle bus to downtown only twice a week to bathe or make phone calls. At the same time, a lack of domestic expertise in conservation prompted extensive international cooperation. Before Guo joined the academy, cooperation with institutions in Japan and the United States in the 1980s had already brought advanced conservation philosophies and techniques to Dunhuang's conservators.
"Building on that foundation, our professionals made further innovations and eventually developed three major technology systems surrounding the protection and repair of ancient murals, protection and consolidation of earthen remains, and digitization of wall paintings and painted sculptures in cave temples," Guo says.
