Conference held in Chongqing on new technologies for safeguarding cultural relics

The Crafts First exhibition Photo: Screenshot of video from CCTV News

Led by China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, the country's first conference dedicated to future trends in cultural relic conservation through high-technology was held on Wednesday in Chongqing.

The conference focused on China's innovations in recent years in technological equipment for protecting cultural relics. It also looked into the challenges in the field and discussed future paths for better integrating high-tech designs into the country's archaeological projects.

Cultural experts such as Wang Xudong, the director of the Palace Museum, and Su Boming, the director of Dunhuang Research Academy, delivered speeches at the conference. The experts discussed initiatives such as application of big data in the archaeological field, the use of nuclear technology to conserve relics, and the application of Radar Technology Equipment in the archaeological field.

Li Qun, director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, said that the cultural relic protection equipment has become an "indispensable" means for the preservation of cultural heritage in China.

Collaboration with international experts and teams in the field is also vital.

In 2018, experts from China and Italy gathered in Chongqing to share exchanges on technological inventions, addressing issues such as stone relic restoration and new materials for wooden relic restoration.

Aside from the main conference, an exhibition called Crafts First was launched as part of the event. The show features 64 items of technological equipment such as a wearable smart piece that provides visitors with immersive experiences from inside the Dunhuang Grottos. Three special seminars including "Smart Cultural Heritage" and "Risk Management for Cultural Relics" were also held.

The Crafts First exhibition is open to the public and is scheduled to end on December 26.