[Explanation] From August 18th to 21st, under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China and hosted by the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, the "Seminar on the Protection of Grotto Temples" was held in Anyue, Sichuan.

More than 100 experts and scholars in related fields gathered together to "check the pulse" for the protection of the cave temples.

　　According to data released by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, as of December 2021, there are 2,155 cave temples and 3,831 cliff statues in China, totaling 5,986.

Due to the characteristics of stone cultural relics, diseases such as weathering, microorganisms, and water erosion have long affected the cultural relics.

　　In recent years, Chinese officials have successively issued the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Protection and Utilization of Grotto Temples", "Medium and Long-Term Plan for Archaeology of Grotto Temples in China (2021-2035)", "Special Plan for the Protection and Utilization of Grotto Temples during the 14th Five-Year Plan", etc.

In order to retain the cultural heritage of the Grotto Temple, the industry is "racing against time".

　　According to Sun Hua, Director of the Academic Committee of the School of Archaeology, Culture and Museology, Peking University and Director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Research Center, due to the wide variety of Chinese grotto temples, they are usually located in the countryside. attention is slightly lacking.

Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the protection research of small and medium-sized cave temples, and constantly improve and make breakthroughs in protection concepts and technologies.

　　[Concurrent] Sun Hua, Director of the Academic Committee of the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, Director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Research Center

　　We have a large number of cave temples. For a long period of time, we can only be satisfied with some large cave temples (conservation research), and sometimes we can’t take care of some small and medium-sized cave temples.

Our cultural relics have a life cycle, and they are gradually aging and losing. What we need to do now is to delay this aging, that is, to make it slower. Of course, it would be better if we could keep it permanently.

Our cave temples face different threats from the natural environment. In this case, our research and protection materials should be developed, and the means should be diversified.

　　[Explanation] Bai Bin, a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology of Sichuan University, also felt the same.

He said that the number of cultural relic sites in the cave temples in Sichuan and Chongqing ranks first in China, and most of them are small and medium-sized grottoes.

Since 2011, he has led a team to conduct grotto surveys and archaeological mapping in Anyue County.

　　[Concurrent] Bai Bin, professor of the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University

　　Many of these grottoes are of poor material, and red sandstone (material) is easily weathered.

So every time I go to a place to investigate, I feel (yes) there is a sense of urgency, that is, we need to protect the body of our cultural relics.

I think in addition to the protection of (cultural relics) ontology, the information of our cultural relics, then the size of these (cultural relics), the subject matter of these statues, the era of these statues, and the value of these statues, we should use our modern technical means. It (cultural relics) should be preserved as soon as possible with words, pictures and three-dimensional things.

　　[Explanation] Tang Fei, director of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that Sichuan Grotto Temple covers 20 cities and prefectures except Panzhihua City, with diverse statues and rich cultural expressions.

The value of small and medium-sized grottoes cannot be ignored. Relying on the Sichuan Grotto Temple Conservation Research Institute, the local area is constantly increasing efforts to protect and utilize small and medium-sized cave temples.

　　[Concurrent] Tang Fei, President of Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

　　The number of small and medium-sized grotto temples in Sichuan is very large, so this is an important problem for future protection. How to protect the small and medium-sized grottoes, and how to combine this problem with related interests in the next step, that is to say (through) the management of our community , including our responsibility for protection and utilization, how can we clearly define the cave temple as a part of our community or our rural life, I think this may be our next step to implement.

　　He Meikun reports from Ziyang, Sichuan

Responsible editor: [Lu Yan]