The mural exhibition, funded by a 2017 China National Arts Fund program, was co-hosted by Taiyuan Museum of Art and east China’s Jiangsu University of Technology. (Photo provided by Taiyuan Museum of Art)

Thanks to the traditional mural production craftsmanship and advanced technology, 80 looted grotto murals that are still lost overseas for the first time were revealed to the Chinese public in north China’s Taiyuan in the form of replicas, Chinanews.com reported on Oct. 10.

In the 1920s, a large number of relics including murals were looted to museums and personal collectors in Europe, America and some other Asian countries, said Wang Yansong, program director of China National Arts Fund, adding that the temple murals are mostly concentrated in Shanxi province of northwestern China.

All the pieces exhibited are replicas of the same materials, techniques and sizes as the original copies. The program decided to bring those lost treasures back to their homeland in this way so that Chinese visitors can have easier access to those murals through nationwide exhibitions, Wang introduced.

The exhibition was funded by China National Arts Fund and also won support from the academies of fine arts in Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces.