Cave No.12 of the Yungang Grottoes (石窟), the 1,500-year-old masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist art, has been recently "moved" to the Zhejiang University Museum of Art and Archaeology by 3D printing technology, (bring)the grottoes to the wider world.
Cave No.12, 14 meters deep,11 meters wide and 9 meters high, also known the Music Cave, was carved with rich images of heavenly figures and (music)instruments from home and abroad. These figures represented the (early) royal symphony orchestra (乐团) in ancient China.
The researchers (overcome)many difficulties since August 2016.First,the project team spent three months laser-scanning (激光扫描) the cave and took 55,680. (photo) of it. (ensure) successful printing, a special 3D printer was tailored for the project. Then, came after 3D printing was the coloring process, during which the images in the cave (expect) to be covered with proper materials and colors. After eight months of coloring, the staff finally completed the replica cave. Experts believe that the completion of the project marked technical breakthroughs and very important step forward in digital protection and inheritance of cultural heritages.
