Site Conservation at the Mogao and Yungang Grottoes

For well over a thousand years, China, Central Asia, and lands to the west were connected by trade routes known today as the "Silk Road." A record of the life that flourished in the days of the Silk Road remains in the art of the Buddhist grotto temples established along the route. The Site Conservation at Mogao and Yungang Grottoes project sought to better preserve these Silk Road sites by implementing site stabilization and conservation strategies at two ancient Buddhist sites in China.

• A 1993 conference at Mogao entitled "Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road" brought together an international group of specialists to discuss common problems
• A comprehensive conservation plan for Yungang to prevent further deterioration caused by visitors and the environment

The Getty Conservation Institute collaborated with the State Administration for Cultural Heritage of the People's Republic of China to research and implement site stabilization and conservation strategies—and to train technical staff—at two ancient Buddhist sites.

State Administration of Cultural Heritage, People's Republic of China; Dunhuang Academy