Museum completes digitization of temple frescos

"Qutan Temple is located at the crossroads of cultural communication between the Han and Tibetan ethnic groups," he says. "Frescos there are among the best preserved Tibetan paintings from the Ming Dynasty in Northwest China and a perfect example of the mixing of Han and Tibetan arts."

Current digitized recordings have covered 14 halls in the temple. Detailed surveying, data mapping, and recording the current states of the frescos are also included in the database.

"The digitization project not only accurately records information about the relics, but it also fully displays the outstanding craftsmanship of the Ming Dynasty through vivid reflection of the lines, colors, and drawing techniques," Luo says.

Other than paintings, the database has also expanded to record some stone relics housed in the temple, including the stele and cornerstones.

"The data will hugely benefit the supervision and management of the cultural relics in the future," Luo says."It will also facilitate the study and display of Qutan Temple's heritage."

Luo says the team will soon focus on creating digitized recordings of ceilings, beams, and other movable artifacts in the temple.