Digitalization in focus

Today, preserving the stone sutras has become a major focus for cultural heritage authorities.

A digital preservation initiative, known as the "micro-trace imaging project for endangered stone inscriptions at Yunju Temple", was launched in the spring of 2025. The project uses advanced imaging technology to capture carving traces that are difficult to detect with the naked eye, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

For heritage experts, the digitalization work is part of a broader effort to preserve the stone sutras and make their cultural value more accessible.

The scriptures located in mountain caves are particularly vulnerable to natural erosion, according to a senior administrative staff member at the temple.

"Many of the stone sutras on Shijing Mountain have been exposed to weathering for centuries," according to the staff member. "Using modern digital technology to record their cultural information is therefore extremely urgent."

Historical records show that large-scale rubbings of the stone inscriptions were made between 1956 and 1958, but systematic digital documentation has been lacking ever since.

The new project aims to build a comprehensive digital archive that includes basic data, rubbings, three-dimensional models, micro-trace images, and digital line drawings.

The system will connect heritage conservation, academic research, exhibition, and public education through an integrated digital platform.

Like the Great Wall or the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Fangshan Stone Sutras represent a millennium project.

"Through digital technology, we hope this ancient cultural heritage will live on in the digital world."

Meanwhile, Beijing's municipal cultural heritage authorities have also listed research-based conservation projects for Yunju Temple's pagodas and stone sutras among the city's key cultural relic protection tasks in 2026, according to the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau.