Feature: Chinese scholars sponsor mini-marathon to help protect Afghan cultural heritage

BAMYAN, Afghanistan, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Relishing the cool breeze which swept across central Afghanistan's Bamyan Valley, the site of the famous Buddhas of Bamyan, young Eid Mohammad proved his athletic mojo as he won a mini-marathon sponsored by a group of young Chinese scholars.

"Today we ran in front of the Buddha site to call for the preservation of cultural heritages," Eid Mohammad, 16, said after completing the 2.1-km race, clocking a time of 00:14:47.

The mini-marathon, which was held in front of the Buddha site recently, was sponsored and organized with the assistance of a group of young scholars from China's Peking University, Lanzhou University, Wenzhou University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Hong Kong-based non-profit Friends of Dunhuang.

Thanking the Chinese scholars for holding the event, Mohammad Taqqi Taqadosi, coordinator of the race and a professor of Bamyan University, noted that organizing such a race is vital to promoting awareness of protecting cultural heritages.

"Organizing sports activities and boosting tourism are good ways to preserve cultural heritages in Bamyan," Taqadosi said.

Bamyan province is famous for many cultural heritages, particularly the two well-known giant Buddhas. The 53-meter and 35-meter-tall Buddha statues, with thousands of caves containing monk statues around them, are more than 1,500 years old and also reminders of the Buddhist civilization in the region.

In 2003, the cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Samad, 14, another youth among the 40 runners for the mini-marathon acknowledged sports as a tool to create awareness to protect cultural heritage, saying that although he works on the streets to support his family, he still dreams of becoming a good runner one day.

"We want to let other people know that we are emphasizing the importance of protecting cultural heritages by running," Samad told Xinhua.

"I am thankful to the Chinese scholars for holding the marathon to inspire us to preserve cultural heritages," a female competitor Malika, 13, said, while praising the Chinese scholars for their work in preserving the cultural heritages in Bamyan.

Due to years of war and economic hardships, the caves in Bamiyan Valley were not properly numbered and have remained unattended for a long time, let alone being presented with a proper introduction.

The situation that badly hindered such cultural heritage sites from being protected and further archaeological research being conducted, however, has been reversed these days.

"With our specific suggestions and financial support, most of the caves near the Buddha site have been officially recorded numerically and installed with introductory nameplates," said Shao Xuecheng, a member of Friends of Dunhuang.

In addition, the Chinese scholars funded a program to teach local children how to preserve their cultural heritage.

Children from impoverished families were invited to attend training activities to receive such knowledge and provided food at the same time.