Artificial intelligence is now being increasingly used to protect and preserve the country's ancient cultural heritages, which are human treasures but face risks brought by time and nature, Wu Jian, director of the Cultural Heritage Digitization Institute at the Dunhuang Academy, has said. Speaking at the 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference's Shanghai West Bund Forum, Wu noted that the historic Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, are described as a Buddhism art "trinity" of structure, mural and sculpture. The themes of the elegant murals there include traditional stories and myth, and the well-known dances of feitian, or flying goddess. However, these murals, dating back more than 1,600 years, could never last forever in their original state. They are fragile in front of nature's power like sandstorm, heavy rains and floods, as well as human activities -- their bright colors having faded and the patterns blurred, some even disappeared.