AcrossChina:Ancientrockcarvingswear"digitalsmartarmor"inSWChina_GuangmingOnlineCHONGQING,April2(Xinhua)--AtkeypositionsoftheDazuRockCarvings,aUNESCOWorldHeritageSiteinsouthwestChina'sChongqingMunicipality,hundredsofdigitalmonitoringdevicesareplacedtocollectfundamentaldatasuchasmeteorology,microenvironmentandmoisturecontentoftherockmass.AsarepresentativeofChinesegrottoart,theDazuRockCarvingssiteisofprofoundhistoricalsignificance,embodyingthevigorousvitalityofChineseculture.However,afteryearsoferosionandweathering,thefamousstatueatthissite,withahistorydatingbackmorethan1,000years,begantoshowclearsignsofdamage.Generationsofconservationeffortshavehelpedtoslowthepaceofdamage,andguardiansoftheDazuRockCarvingshavenowalsoturnedtotheuseofdigitalmethodstofightagainstthedestructiveimpactoftime--hopingtoeffectivelyrestoreandrevivetherockcarvings.YanXuefeng,a64-year-oldrestorerattheAcademyofDazuRockCarvings,wasstandinginfrontofastoneBuddhastatueattheBaodingMountainscenicareaoftheDazuRockCarvingssite.Hewasusingprecisiontechnicalequipmenttocheckthedevelopmentofrockcrackswithinthestatue,ataskwhichinthepasthadreliedpurelyonhumanvisualobservationandexperience.Intheearly1980s,thesituationattheDazuRockCarvingswasverydifferentcomparedwithtoday.Backthen,thevenuewaswithoutmanagementandthisallowedweedstoflourishanddusttogather,whilethismountainousregionalsofacedseriouschallengesintermsofwater,electricityandcommunicationinfrastructureatthattime.Inaddition,accesstothesitewaslimited,withonlynarrowpathsavailabletothosewantingtoreachit."Asimmovableculturalrelics,theDazuRockCarvingshavestrongnaturalattributes,andcliffstatuesaresensitivetonaturaleffectssuchaswaterseepageandweathering,"Yansaid,addingthatwaterdisastersnotonlydestroystonecarvingsandbreedmicroorganisms,butarealsosignificantintermsoftheaggravationofweathering.Withthecontinuousimprovementofinternettechnologyandmonitoringabilitiesandcapacities,restorerscantodaycarryoutinformatizationconstructiontoensureboththesecurityofculturalrelicsandgoodengineeringquality.In2020,amonitoringandearlywarningsystemusingtechnologiesincludingInternetofThings,theinternetandbigdatawasputintouse.Themonitoringscopeofthissystemcovers18categoriesandmorethan70sub-items,suchasstonecarvings,theenvironment,humanactivitiesandprotectionmanagement.Itrealizesacompletedigitalchainofculturalheritagemonitoring,includingdatacollection,analysis,anddocking,aswellasmonitoringandearlywarning,whichstrengthenstheoverallculturalheritagemonitoringprocess.Thus,thissystemcanprovideascientificdecision-makingbasisforprotectioneffortsattheDazuRockCarvings,andtransformtheprotectionstrategyfrompassiveprotectiontoactiveprotection,whilealsoallowinganexpansionfromrescueprotectiontobothrescueandpreventiveprotectionwork.Atpresent,therescueandprotectionprojectofCaveNo.176toNo.180ofthecliffstatueatBeishanSiteofDazuRockCarvings,someofthecaveswiththemostseriouswaterdamage,isprogressinginanorderlymannerandisexpectedtobecompletedinJulythisyear."Inthepastitwasacase-by-caseapproach,butnowweareconductingcomprehensiveinvestigationandtreatment,"saidChenHuili,directoroftheprotectionengineeringcenteroftheAcademyofDazuRockCarvings."Wenowhaveacomprehensiveprotectionstrategyincludingrockreinforcement,waterseepagecontrol,statuerestoration,preventiveprotection,andmonitoringandearlywarningsystemconstruction,"Chenadded.AccordingtoChen,a"hospital"fortheDazuRockCarvingsculturalrelicscanalsoprovidestandardizedandscientificservicesfromdiagnosistotreatmentforrockcarvingculturalrelics,helpingexpandthelivesofmoredamagedculturalrelics.InJanuary2024,adigitalmuseumshowcasingtheDazuRockCarvingsstartedtrialoperation,emergingasanewplatformfordisplayoftheculturalheritageoftheDazuRockCarvings,whilealsohelpingtoadvancepreservation,research,andinheritancecapabilities.Theplatformrevitalizesrelicsthroughdigitaltechnologyandbreathesnewlifeintomillennia-oldrockcarvings,spreadingthecharmofgrottoarttoawideraudienceandhelpingtobettermeetthepublic'sculturaldemands.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.