From The Sunday Times:
The shifting sands of China’s deserts – already blamed for dust clouds adding to global pollution – now threaten to bury the world’s outstanding collection of ancient Buddhist art in caves along the fabled Silk Road.
The frescoes and statues in the renowned Dunhuang caves are being damaged by grit blown from the Kumtag desert and could be buried by the dunes, according to Wang Jiru, director of the provincial desert control institute.
“The desert is growing because the River Shule, which runs through the oasis, has so many dams on it that its waters are shrinking,” Wang told Xin-hua, the Chinese news agency. [Full Text]
Read also Creeping desert threatens Mogao grottoes by Wang Shanshan.
