Fine protectors of mountain marvels

Mu Changyou recalls often looking up to see the soaring face of Maiji Mountain near his home when he was young.

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Seen from afar the Maijishan Grottoes resemble a stack of wheat piled high by farmers.

The name of the mountain, in Tianshui, Gansu province, Northwest China, means wheat stack, referring to its appearance, and it is home to many ancient Buddhist caves carved into the cliffside, collectively known as the Maijishan Grottoes.

Forty years ago Mu, then 19, of Maiji village, was offered the chance to work on the mountain, becoming a restorer of the cultural relics in the caves. From an apprentice cleaning caves and organizing tools to a master training students, he has spent decades extending the lives of his old friends.

Mu is one of the many professionals who protect the grottoes, a cave temple complex known as a gallery of Eastern statues because of the almost complete chronological sequence of its statues, built by pious ancient Chinese people from the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304-439) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The grottoes, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site named Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor, have 221 caves, 161 of which still house Buddhist statues or murals. However, time has taken its toll on the site, and heritage protectors have explored various ways to protect it.