Cultural diamonds rise above coal dust

Datong has been synonymous with the nation's major coal production base over the past decades, producing more than 2.3 billion tons of coal.

However, the 2,300-year-old city's multifarious cultural heritages, including the Yungang Grottoes, an official UNESCO World Heritage Site, have largely been overlooked.

A New Yungang Project was launched last weekend "in a bid to re-connect Datong with its past splendor, and to promote its creative industries, a potential growth point for the coalmining and heavy-industry city in Northwest China," says Mayor Geng Yanbo.

A centerpiece of the project, the Yungang Grottoes, is situated on the southern cliffs of Wuzhou Mountain, about 16 km west of Datong and a three-and-half-hour drive from Beijing.

The grottoes were carved out of the cliffs in a honeycomb pattern from 460-524 AD by generations of Buddhist devotees and folk artisans.

Forty-five of the most important caves at Yungang survive.

Of the existing 51,000 statues at Yungang, the largest one is 17-m high, and the smallest is only 2-cm high, making Yungang one of the best known grotto complexes in China.

The New Yungang Project will focus on the better preservation of the existing cultural heritages and eminent folk arts in Datong, including the Yungang Grottoes, several ancient Buddhist monasteries, Confucian temples and surrounding tombs, says Feng Jicai, vice-chairman of All China Federation of Literary and the Arts Circles, and chief advisor to the project.

Feng heads an expert team of art historians and sculptors from across the country to compile a complete catalog of ancient sculptures, murals, architectures and folk arts. These traditional arts include paper cuttings, silk figurines, clay art, bronze art, and wooden carvings popular among local people.

The catalog is expected to come out next summer with help from Beijing-based Zhonghua Press.

Apart from cultural heritage conservation, the New Yungang Project also includes a blueprint for the city's future growth by integrating public art, especially modern sculptural art with urban development.

Earlier this year the local government approved the blueprint, says An Dajun, head of Datong Cultural Heritage Conservation and Research Society.

"Topping the agenda are the establishment of a School of Sculptural Art at Datong University next year, construction of the Museum of Chinese Sculptural Art and a Sculpture Park for the public, and the staging of Datong International Sculptural Art Festival next year," An says.

Preliminary work for the project began in early March, including the peaceful relocation of five hillside villages, a dozen souvenir shops, restaurants, and hostels from near the Yungang Grottoes, and refurbishment of a tourist service center, car parks, and re-construction of a road leading to the grottoes area.

(China Daily 07/01/2009 page18)