In pics: 73-year-old conservator dedicates 41 years in protection of Buddist cultural relics (9)

Wu Zhongfu patrols in a grotto in Anyue County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 3, 2023. Wu Zhongfu, 73-year-old, has been protecting and conserving the Buddhist statues and stone carvings of Buddhist scriptures from Tang Dynasty (618-907) for 41 years in the Wofo (meaning sleeping Buddha) Yard of Anyue County in Sichuan Province.

After becoming a voluntary conservator for cultural relics in 1982, Wu Zhongfu's main job had been patrolled the cultural relics and kept the environment clean. In 2006, he became an official conservator. As more and more people decided to leave the county and seek job opportunities from other places, Wu Zhongfu has once wavered yet decided to stay despite the meager salary. "Standing in front of these statues, I could scarcely bear the thought of leaving them behind," he said. Now, this elderly conservator is still healthy. He said that he would always look after these national treasures as long as he could.

Anyue County is famous for its Chinese stone carvings. There are more than 100,000 stone statues from the Tang and Song Dynasties and more than 400,000 words of grotto scriptures preserved in the county. Anyue County also harbors 10 national key cultural relics protection units. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)