Shanxi races to complete digital scanning of grottoes

China's Yungang Grottoes will complete scanning of all its caves in five years, paving the way for the creation of digital versions that can withstand weathering and other real-world damage.

So far, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Shanxi province has completed three-dimensional scans for one-third of its Buddhist grottoes, according to the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute.

Ning Bo, director of the institute's digitalization office, says they are racing against time. "Weathering is like cancer to grottoes, eating away at the sculptures year after year," Ning says.