Chinese people love food made of flour, whether it be dumplings, or flatbread. In the hands of skilled artisans (手艺人), flour is made into lovely models of people or animals to be enjoyed and played with, which brings a unique kind of pleasure. This art form is called dough figurine (面塑). Among the various art styles of dough figurines, Beijing’s Dough Figurine Lang is a unique folk art, which is filled with the rich history and customs of the capital city. Their fine and lovely handicrafts tell stories of old and new Beijing. In 2008, it was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

It was created by Lang Shao’an. Most dough figurines are animals and characters from legends, historical stories, and local operas. The finished product is either put at the end of a thin stick, or on a table for display. Some are designed for children to eat or play with, with simple forms and vivid decorations, while others are fine pieces of artwork for display only. For this reason, during the process of making them, they are often mixed with additives (添加剂) to prevent them from breaking up, being eaten by insects or growing moldy. Over the course of his long career, Lang Shao’an developed a set of skilled fingers with an elegant artistic sense.

Lang Jiaziyu, born in 1995, is a third-generation inheritor of Dough Figurine Lang. When he was 15, he created Beijing Olympic Mascot-shaped dough figurines which were highly praised. He looks a bit more fashionable than other folk artisans. In his skilled hands, pop culture icons such as figures based on Marvel comics characters and Chinese mythological figure Nezha with smoky makeup, resonate with young people.

Like most of the other intangible cultural heritage handicrafts in China, Dough Figurine Lang does not get as much attention from the public. Many young people are unwilling to take the time to master a skill that does not make money, which has led to a decline in the number of those who are devoted to the handicraft. Good handicrafts need the devotion of artisans from one generation to another.

It’s a race against time, as generations of cultural heritage conservators at the Dunhuang Academy make a great effort to protect the artistic charm of the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, despite erosion (侵蚀) by sand and wind.

The team is devoted to protecting the 45,000 square meters of murals (壁画) and more than 2,400 painted sculptures of the 735 caves of the site, the construction of which spans about a thousand years, from the 4th century to the 14th century. The cultural relics are the product of the cultural exchanges that took place over centuries on the ancient Silk Road. “Our work, repairing murals and painted sculptures, is to better preserve the caves, which promotes the great Dunhuang spirit of inclusiveness to the world and inspires modern people,” says Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy.

Commonly seen “diseases” affecting the murals include cracking and flaking, as well as erosion that is caused by changes in temperature and humidity of the caves, and the deposition of salts. To restore a mural requires an all-rounder. Restorers should know painting, master the skills of a mason and have some knowledge of chemistry and physics, to be able to recognize the problems and their corresponding causes and deliver a solution. They must also select proper materials and tools, and conduct experiments, before formally carrying out the restoration and evaluating the effect afterward.

The restoration should respect the original work and aim to maintain the status quo of the murals rather than repainting them. When the restorers find some parts of murals missing or fading away, they never repaint them to create a “perfect” appearance in restoration. “Cultural relics are witnesses of history,” explains Su. “When you pursue the so-called intact (完好无损的) look for artistic reasons, you will lose their key meaning.”

Cave conservation is about continuously solving problems. “It needs a long-term research to better preserve the caves, over a much wider time span that goes beyond our lifetimes,” Su says. But at least, they can keep the current look of the murals for as long as possible.

Wherever we go, we are surrounded by history. Across the globe, cultural heritage (遗产) is passed down through the generations. Yet, we fight a never-ending and very expensive war to preserve it for the future. And today, it is under attack as never before. Technology is often seen as something that destroys the past.【小题1】 .

Creating copies via 2D images is extremely laborious and time-consuming. AI technologies are being used to do all the required sourcing, allowing lots of images to be cross-referenced and stored in hours. 【小题2】 . AI will also make the restoration and preservation of existing cultural heritage far easier and is vastly superior to previous methods.

Airborne technology (机载技术) is being increasingly used in the fight to preserve our cultural heritage. 【小题3】

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has already been used to reveal over 60, 000 Mayan structures that were lying undiscovered in the jungles of Guatemala, without needing a single boot on the ground. Drones (无人机) are also being used to document and monitor huge areas and remove the need for all that costly manpower.

Human interaction with the most important sites and architecture is doing a great deal of harm. Virtual Reality (VR) technology will play a leading role in preserving our cultural heritage in the coming years.【小题4】 , VR technology will gradually become the way that people experience them. We’ll all eventually be able to walk through places, look at (and touch!) artifacts and works of art without ever seeing them with our own eyes.

【小题5】. Efforts in research, data sharing and project work will need to be pooled internationally. Using the technical expertise of specialist organizations will become ever more important to the sustainable promoting and preserving of the cultural heritage of countries all across the world.