Accepting a new role

Speaking of that history, Wang Xudong, Fan's successor as chief of the Dunhuang Academy-a position he held from 2014 to April this year, when he became director of the Palace Museum in Beijing-says: "Many of the older generation of scholars like Fan had to live separately from their spouses. That was heart-wrenching. They devoted their lifetimes just to become deeply rooted in the Mogao Caves, which must deserve people's recognition today."

Fortunately, new office buildings, research facilities and the road to the Dunhuang Academy were built in the 1980s.

Fan says the people in Dunhuang at the time were encouraged to build a global perspective of their studies, thanks to the country's reform and opening-up.

"At that time, I felt I was a nerd," Fan says. "When the country opened its gates to the outside, I took every opportunity to meet with scholars from around the world."

In 1986, she accepted the challenge of drafting the proposal document for Mogao Caves to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At that time, China had no inscription on that list.

"To usher in the conservation of cultural heritage into a more modern context … I had to learn international law and theory," she says. "I had to expand the scope of my research work."

In 1987, Mogao Caves was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the six earliest entries to the list from China.

Fan also amassed a huge pile of handwritten notes during her preparations.

"At the time, I just wanted to leave some documents as a reference for the academy before I retired," she says.

However, she did not know how many more challenges awaited her. In 1998, when Fan thought she was approaching her retirement, she was offered the position as the director of the Dunhuang Academy, and stayed there for another 16 years.

"As a manager, I had to confront problems rather than escape from them," she says. "In Dunhuang, success is the only option. If you fail, it brings shame not only to your ancestors but also to your country."

The murals were eroded by time. Fan played an active role in setting up China's first laboratory that focused on the conservation of earthen murals by analyzing the impact brought about by sand, seeping water, cracks and other "diseases". Her work now helps with the conservation of many similar relics at other sites in the west of China.

Due to a lack of younger expertise, the academy sponsored its staff to further their studies in renowned institutions around the world.

"During Fan's tenure, interdisciplinary studies mixing natural science and the humanities became common at the Dunhuang Academy," Wang says. "Unlike Fan, who had already gained an abundance of knowledge about murals by the time she first visited Dunhuang, I knew almost nothing about cultural heritage when I first arrived there."

Wang majored in geology at college.

"However, I soon felt that what I had learned could also contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage there, thanks to her inclusiveness," Wang recalls.

"It felt like standing on a giant's shoulders when I became Fan's successor-but I knew I would set off on the right path if I followed her example and kept an open mind and a global outlook."