CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- What is the current situation after the flooding and damage to the relics? According to Chongqing Municipal Development Committee of Culture and Tourism, the floods affected the city’s 63 immovable cultural relics. At present, most of the flooded cultural relics have been completed dredging and disinfection; the relevant departments are organizing experts to inspect the cultural relics.

On August 26, the former site of Xinhua Daily headquarters under Hongyan Alliance Culture Developing Management Center has been dredged and disinfected, and is gradually recovering its vitality. 

The site of the former headquarters of Xinhua Daily under Hongyan Alliance Culture Developing Management Center was once the headquarters and printing place of Xinhua Daily, which was publicly published and distributed by the Communist Party of China in the Kuomintang-ruled areas during the Anti-Japanese War and early Liberation War. The municipal heritage site near the Jialing River was severely affected by the flood. 

On August 21, the reporter of Chongqing Daily saw that several bamboo and civil structures at the former site soaked in floodwaters, with some of the buildings visible only as roofs, which was heartbreaking. On the afternoon of August 26, the reporter came back here and saw that there was no longer any flooding or sludge in the site, and found the floors, walls, and glass to be relatively clean in any of the building.

Two stone carving treasures were also affected. Around two meters of water entered the cliff statues hall of Dafo Temple in Tongnan, the gold foil of Big Buddha was soaked in water and partially flaking. All the cliff statues Buddhas in Danzishi, Nan’an District were submerged.

Director of Tongnan District Cultural Relics Protection Management Institute said that recently, the district’s Development Committee of Culture and Tourism has invited Wang Jinhua, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at Fudan University’s Institute of Science and Technology Archaeology, to come to Tongnan to inspect the Buddha statues. On the advice of the expert, Tongnan is inviting Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institute to prepare a restoration plan so that the statues can be scientifically restored.

The relevant people in charge of Chongqing Municipal Development Committee of Culture and Tourism have been in batches to the seriously affected heritage conservation units, guiding the relevant districts and counties according to the actual situation to carry out heritage restoration scheme preparation. “Districts, counties and heritage management departments should also sum up their experience and improve relevant plans to take precautionary measures,” said the head of the Cultural Heritage Inspection Department of Municipal Development Committee of Culture and Tourism. (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)