Lungshan Temple’s CyArk listing boosts Taiwan cultural preservation

2016/05/09

Lungshan Temple’s inclusion in CyArk 500, a U.S. digital archive dedicated to the preservation of invaluable cultural sites worldwide, is paving the way for more local cultural assets to participate in the project while highlighting the nation’s unique heritage, according to Shy Gwo-long, director of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture May 5.

“Taiwan’s first-ever CyArk 500 listing reflects the commitment of the government to preserving the nation’s iconic cultural landscape,” Shy said. “We welcome this global recognition and are working to have more sites of cultural significance considered for inclusion.”

Situated in Changhua County’s Lukang Township, central Taiwan, the temple dates from the late 18th century and is one of the most revered Buddhist monasteries in Taiwan. Its architectural beauty and rarely seen wooden structure saw it listed in 1983 among 846 sites designated as National Monuments by the MOC.

The temple was digitally documented April 25-29 using the latest laser scanning technology by Ross Davison, a field manager from U.S.-headquartered CyArk Foundation. His visit was organized with the support of the bureau by Center for Cultural Sites Rehabilitation and Development at Taipei City-based China University of Technology.

Center Director Alex Yen said during Davison’s visit, the site and surrounding area were photographed by a drone. “After the addition of contextual information, the panoramic images will be forwarded to the U.S for further processing before uploading by CyArk.”

CyArk aims to build a free, 3-D online library of the world’s 500 at-risk cultural heritage sites by 2018. To date, 40 sites have been added, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Mt. Rushmore, the ancient city of Pompeii and the ruins of Thebes in Egypt.

According to Yen, the partnership with CyArk demonstrates Taiwan’s advanced historical site preservation and digital archiving capabilities. “We aim to springboard off the listing and have CyArk add such sites as Fort San Domingo and Lin Ben-yuan Family Mansion and Garden, both in New Taipei City, as well as the Qionglin historic houses in offshore Kinmen County,” he said.

Taiwan is blessed with an abundance of world-class cultural assets reflecting its diverse national cultural heritage. The MOC cooperates with public and private sector organizations in preserving and restoring historic buildings, sites, communities, relics and cultural landscapes, as well as conserving Taiwan’s traditional arts, folk culture and other cultural legacies.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=244438&ctNode=2194&mp=9)