The researchers at the University of Chicago are trying to undo damages to the Xiangtangshan Caves, south of Beijing. The caves which contained 6 th-century Buddhist altars, limestone figures and paintings of gods and monstors were looted and badly damaged in the early 1900s.
The UC project, funded by a Getty Foundation Collaborative Research Grant and the Carpenter Foundation, is using digital photography and 3-D topography to create virtual caves.
Project leader Kathrine Tsiang Mino, associate director of the university's Center for the Art of East Asia, in collaborating with universities, museums and research institutions across China and the U.S. has tracked down objects from the caves as part of her dissertation and located more than 100 pieces.
The caves are believed to have been established by two Northern Qi emperors, devotees of the
Buddhist religion. But very little information exists about the short-lived Northern Qi dynasty,
which lasted from year 550 to 577. The project is the most ambitious one to date. (Source: Tran
M. Phung, Chicago Tribune, July 28, 2005).