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Chinanews, Beijing, September 22 – With the beginning of the 3rd Flying Apsaras Tourism Festival last Friday (September 15), a new tourism peak season has started in Dunhuang, which is estimated to last more than one month, if the National Day holiday is taken into consideration.
However, Mogao Grottos in Dunhuang can't stand tourists tide any more. It is a miracle for the wall paintings of mud and grass to survive the erosion of thousands of years, but they won't survive the effect of modern civilization. Nearly all the grottos there are crying for urgent repair. Though archeologists are working hard, they are powerless to save the desperate situation unless the grottos are totally closed to tourists.
Statistics show that Mogao Grottos have received more than 4 million tourists from more than 80 countries and regions. Sarcastically, these grottoes are called "museums", yet they are unable to preserve the precious cultural heritages inside.
Mogao Grottos were places for people to pray to the Buddha, not the places to satisfy their curiosity. The local government should give the red light to the grotto visitors if it does not wish to destroy the grottos in a few years.
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