Visitors take a tour of the 3D-printed 1:1 replica of the No 12 Cave of the Yungang Grottoes at Zhejiang University Museum of Art and Archaeology in Hangzhou Nov 3. [Photo/IC]

Zhejiang University Museum of Art and Archaeology, located in Hangzhou, the capital of East China's Zhejiang province, recently launched an exhibition of the world's first mobile 3D-printed 1:1 replica of the No 12 Cave of the Yungang Grottoes.

Yungang Grottoes, located in Datong, North China's Shanxi province, are a world cultural heritage site with a history of more than 1,500 years. In Yungang's 45 large grottoes and more than 200 small grottoes, there are about 59,000 figures of the Buddha, which are a priceless treasure of human culture.

Researchers at the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute and the Zhejiang University Cultural Relics Research Institute together "copied and pasted" No 12 Cave by using photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning as well as 3D printing technologies.

The Yungang researchers' work is a good example of technology helping to preserve cultural relics. It is hoped new digitalized technologies will facilitate a rebirth of the cultural legacy, and bring them to more places worldwide.