The alarm at 6 AM marked the beginning of my six-week journey as a guardian — this summer, I arrived in Dunhuang to serve as a Hong Kong intern guide at the Mogao Caves. At the Caves Monitoring Center, I noted that if the CO₂ concentration inside the caves exceeded 1500 ppm or if there were drastic fluctuations in temperature and humidity, it would trigger an alert — this sensitivity in data monitoring makes me understand that the protection of cultural relics is a precise science. I remember the teacher pointing at the real-time monitoring screen and saying, “These figures are the caves' pulse and blood pressure.”

The "Checkerboard Sand-fixing Engineering" showcases the fusion of ancient wisdom with modern technology. Each 1.5m x 1.5m checkerboard made of wheat straw can reduce wind speed by about 30%, and experts from the Dunhuang Academy are still improving this technology that began in the 1950s.

When I saw interns replicating murals at the Art Institute, I deeply understood that "the murals of the Mogao Caves, seen with the eyes, reveal only a fraction of their beauty; only by painting them yourself can you appreciate the remaining beauty." An artist was restoring the Lotus Child in Cave 321 and said, "Reproduction is not copying; you must understand the breathing rhythm of the Northern Wei artisans as they painted." This reminded me of Director Chang Shuhong's moment of discovery of the Dunhuang pictorial records at a Parisian bookstall — some encounters change the trajectory of a lifetime.

This week’s reflections:

1. Cultural heritage conservation is a symbiosis of science and art.
2. Monitoring data taught me that leadership requires precise judgment.

   3.Sand control engineering confirms the restoration philosophy that "different sand hazards require different solutions."

〈Set my biological clock to wake up at 6am〉

<Happy Monday>

<Visiting the Dunhuang Art Research Institute's colored sculpture reproductions>

< The “crime scene” of rummaging through boxes at the Dunhuang Research Academy Library>

< Happy Friday: Night Market Foodie>

< Freedom in the desert on Saturday>