Guarding treasures for 20 years
By Xiao Zhu |
December 29, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
KIZILKARHA Grottoes - the name means "Please stay, beautiful lady" in the Uygur language - are hidden in a remote, forbidding canyon. There's no paved road, no public transport, no water or electricity, no Internet and no people for miles around.
But someone has to guard the national treasures, precious frescoes in 46 caves, around 12 kilometers from Kuche City in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The caves are not totally open to the public, only authorized artists and experts.
The gatekeeper, 40-year-old Rahman Amut has devoted almost half his life to safeguarding the grottoes carved into cliffs in the mountains.
The caves were carved from rock and decorated with murals and sculpture as early as the 5th century AD, when the Buddhist Qiuci Kingdom flourished in the region on the Silk Road.
The paintings of Buddha, apsaras, monks, warriors and others are typical of art from the Buddhist Qiuci Kingdom.
"These are national treasures under my protection," Amut said with pride in an interview in October. He has a generator for electricity and uses his mobile phone in case of emergency.
He lives alone in a shabby house with a dry well in front, a relic of his unsuccessful efforts to get water in the land of rock and sand. His wife and two children live with her parents in a small village, not too far away.
To get drinking water, Amut must ride a donkey to the nearest store. It's a three-hour ride each way. Occasionally, he gets supplies by donkey.
His daily routine is to climb up and down a cliff and check grottoes for damage and unexpected visitors. He makes the rounds two or three times a day, each round taking two or three hours.
In his "leisure" time, Amut listens to the radio and reads old Uygur-language newspapers. Sometimes he calls his family.
He earns less than 1,000 yuan (US$159) from the Qiuci Academy of Xinjiang.
The biggest challenge is loneliness. Few people visit the off-limits caves.
One winter, Amut didn't see anyone for 89 days, except for the occasional family member who delivered food and water by donkey or hand cart.
He became guardian of the grottoes when he was 21 years old, succeeding a man who quit after three months because he couldn't stand the isolation and harsh conditions.
"The gatekeeper's pay and living conditions are far from good because our funds are limited," says Zhang Guoling, the head of Qiuci Academy. "But we have employees like Rahman who are 100 percent devoted."
In addition to dedication, Amut knows every crack and leak in every grotto. He knows the subject of every painting and whether a nobleman's nose has been chipped.
He reports risks and damage from wind, rain and erosion to the academy.
When the Kuche area was flooded after heavy rains in 2009, Amut was digging temporary drainage ditches by himself until a professional team arrived from the academy in Kizil township, 60 kilometers away.
"I will stay here because it is my destiny and my honor," Amut says. "I'm proud to make a contribution to my country."
But it would be much better to have electricity and running water. "If there is Internet, it will be perfect," he says.
But someone has to guard the national treasures, precious frescoes in 46 caves, around 12 kilometers from Kuche City in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The caves are not totally open to the public, only authorized artists and experts.
The gatekeeper, 40-year-old Rahman Amut has devoted almost half his life to safeguarding the grottoes carved into cliffs in the mountains.
The caves were carved from rock and decorated with murals and sculpture as early as the 5th century AD, when the Buddhist Qiuci Kingdom flourished in the region on the Silk Road.
The paintings of Buddha, apsaras, monks, warriors and others are typical of art from the Buddhist Qiuci Kingdom.
"These are national treasures under my protection," Amut said with pride in an interview in October. He has a generator for electricity and uses his mobile phone in case of emergency.
He lives alone in a shabby house with a dry well in front, a relic of his unsuccessful efforts to get water in the land of rock and sand. His wife and two children live with her parents in a small village, not too far away.
To get drinking water, Amut must ride a donkey to the nearest store. It's a three-hour ride each way. Occasionally, he gets supplies by donkey.
His daily routine is to climb up and down a cliff and check grottoes for damage and unexpected visitors. He makes the rounds two or three times a day, each round taking two or three hours.
In his "leisure" time, Amut listens to the radio and reads old Uygur-language newspapers. Sometimes he calls his family.
He earns less than 1,000 yuan (US$159) from the Qiuci Academy of Xinjiang.
The biggest challenge is loneliness. Few people visit the off-limits caves.
One winter, Amut didn't see anyone for 89 days, except for the occasional family member who delivered food and water by donkey or hand cart.
He became guardian of the grottoes when he was 21 years old, succeeding a man who quit after three months because he couldn't stand the isolation and harsh conditions.
"The gatekeeper's pay and living conditions are far from good because our funds are limited," says Zhang Guoling, the head of Qiuci Academy. "But we have employees like Rahman who are 100 percent devoted."
In addition to dedication, Amut knows every crack and leak in every grotto. He knows the subject of every painting and whether a nobleman's nose has been chipped.
He reports risks and damage from wind, rain and erosion to the academy.
When the Kuche area was flooded after heavy rains in 2009, Amut was digging temporary drainage ditches by himself until a professional team arrived from the academy in Kizil township, 60 kilometers away.
"I will stay here because it is my destiny and my honor," Amut says. "I'm proud to make a contribution to my country."
But it would be much better to have electricity and running water. "If there is Internet, it will be perfect," he says.
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