technology helps protect cultural relics in lhasa
in recent years, technology has been playing an important role in the protection of the cultural heritage of the jokhang temple. (photo: xinhua)
by wang xiaoxia & yang yuhang
in recent years, technology has been playing an important role in the protection of the cultural heritage of the jokhang temple, according to lobsang, a local manager of the temple on october 10, in lhasa, china's xizang autonomous region.
the jokhang temple, a unesco world heritage site in the old city of lhasa, was founded in the 7th century, to promote buddhism. the temple, constructed of wood and stone, is an outstanding example of the tibetan buddhist style. it is home to over 3,000 images of the buddha and other deities and historical figures, murals depicting religious and historical scenes, manuscripts along with many other treasures.
to better protect and display the cultural relics, efforts have been taken to digitalize them. since 2013, the jokhang temple has been working with the palace museum in beijing to establish a complete database of its cultural relics. using advanced data acquisition techniques, restorers can detect the cracks in the murals and repair them accurately.
all the murals and statues in the temple have been scanned and the ensuing high-definition 3d images have been stored, according to lobsang, a manager of the temple, adding that the digitalization of the building structures is underway.
a large amount of money has been spent in the intelligent upgrade of the temple's security, power and fire-fighting facilities to protect the heritage site and its historical artifacts, said lobsang.
advanced technology is also being used to preserve and restore barkhor street, another famous scenic spot in lhasa with jokhang temple at its center. the street community is working with institutions like the chinese academy of sciences (cas), which are providing technological support, said xiao youming, who works for the authority in charge of planning and managing the old city of lhasa.
cas has designed a wireless network of barkhor's streetlamps so that the wires and cables hanging over the street can be removed, and local residents and visitors can enjoy better views, said xiao.
