Tencent in digital pact to protect cultural relics

Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd is taking extra steps for the protection and promotion of ancient cultural relics through an upgraded digitalization partnership with an institute tied to the UNESCO World Heritage site Mogao Grottoes.

Under a three-year collaboration with the Dunhuang Academy unveiled on Friday, the two parties pledged to set up a joint working group that uses artificial intelligence technologies to detect hazards endangering frescos, in order to ensure their preservation and repair.

The duo also pledged to display and promote cultural relics in the Sutra Cave, among the most well-known caves in the Mogao Grottoes, through digital means, enhance cultural exchanges with overseas institutes that house Dunhuang-related relics, and advance the Belt and Road Initiative via the cultural platforms.