Chongqing - Scalpel, syringe, tweezers -all laid out, ready to go. It looks like a surgical theater - and in many ways, it is.

But the patient is neither human nor animal. It is a stone statue at the Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwestern China. And the surgeons are members of the Conservation and Restoration Team at the Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute - often called the “imperial physicians” of these ancient treasures.

The conservation and restoration team at the Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute. (Photo/Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute)

On March 31, the team received the Special Prize at the New Chongqing Contribution Award ceremony, one of the city's highest honors recognizing outstanding contributions to cultural and social development.

A Legacy of Preservation

As the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Chongqing, the Dazu Rock Carvings have been known for centuries. But systematic conservation efforts only began in the 1950s. "At the time, there were only three people working out of three small rooms," recalled Chen Huili, the team's lead and a research librarian at the institute.

Since then, the mission to protect the carvings has never paused. The current team was formally established in 2011 and now comprises 16 members, including seven with senior professional titles, two Ph.D. holders, and seven with master's degrees.

The restoration team at work inside the Dazu Rock Carvings Cultural Relics Hospital. (Photo/Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute)

Specializing in the conservation of stone cultural heritage in humid environments, the team has become a national leader in cave temple preservation. Their work integrates rescue conservation with preventive protection, balancing the preservation of the carvings themselves with the surrounding environment. Different strategies are applied based on the type of relic and the nature of the deterioration.

Race Against Time and Nature

Daily exposure to temperature shifts, wind, rain, and mist - combined with the region’s persistent high heat and humidity - has left the carvings increasingly vulnerable after more than a millennium. "They have entered a period of accelerated weathering," Chen said.

Whenever the weather permits, the team treks to remote sites to carry out their work. Since 2012, they have completed more than 30 major conservation projects, including rock reinforcement, water damage control, artifact restoration, digital archiving, security system upgrades, and protective structure construction. Among them, 13 projects have been finished since 2023.

Digital Documentation and Monitoring

Thanks to the team's digital conservation efforts, visitors can now explore high-resolution details of the carvings on the official Dazu Rock Carvings website and through interactive screens at the Dazu Rock Carvings Museum.

By the end of 2024, the team had completed digital data collection for 57 cultural relic protection units, using technologies such as close-range photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning. These efforts produced three-dimensional reality models and established a comprehensive digital archive.

The restoration team is working on-site. (Photo/Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute)

The team also developed a monitoring and early warning system covering 18 major categories and more than 70 sub-items. The system enables real-time tracking of environmental and structural changes, providing critical data for decision-making and strengthening preventive conservation.

Breakthroughs in Humid-Environment Conservation

One of the team's most celebrated achievements is the restoration of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin statue, a masterpiece dating back more than 800 years. In collaboration with research institutions and universities, the team became the first to apply X-ray radiography to analyze weathering, cracks, and historical repairs on such a large stone carving.

The eight-year project restored the statue, which had suffered from 34 types of deterioration, to its original golden splendor. It marked a milestone in the restoration of large-scale immovable cultural relics in China.

The restoration team is working on-site. (Photo/Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute)

"Through the water damage control project at Baodingshan, we developed a three-dimensional waterproofing system combining drainage and sealing," Chen said. That solution broke new ground for cave temple conservation in southern China's humid climate and has since become a replicable model nationwide.

The team also led the drafting of the local standard Operation Specifications for the Restoration of Immovable Stone Cultural Relics, transforming local expertise into a formal industry benchmark.

Global Collaboration, Local Expertise

International cooperation has also been a key part of the team's approach. In 2022, they partnered with the Veneto Heritage Cluster in Italy to restore the polychrome and gold-leaf details of the Shuchengya Cliff Carvings. "It was the first successful Sino-Italian collaboration of its kind," Chen noted, adding that the project showcased Chongqing’s conservation expertise on an international stage.

"Choose One Pursuit, Dedicate a Lifetime"

For Chen, the New Chongqing Contribution Award reflects not only her team’s dedication but also the efforts of countless cultural heritage workers across the region.

"This honor belongs to every cultural relic worker quietly preserving the heritage of Bayu," she said. "Choose one pursuit, dedicate a lifetime."

The restoration team is working on-site. (Photo/Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute)

Looking ahead, she and her team aim to continue protecting the millennia-old carvings, ensuring that the cultural legacy of the Bayu region shines even brighter in the years to come. "As cultural relic doctors, we will contribute to building Chongqing into a culturally strong city and to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," she said.