Chinese-funded course helps protect cultural heritages in Afghanistan

BAMYAN, Afghanistan, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- In central Afghanistan's Bamyan Valley, where stands the famous Buddhas of Bamyan, Mohammad Ali Hasanyar was teaching local kids how to preserve the world's invaluable civilization in front of the Buddha site.

Bamyan province is famous for many cultural heritages, particularly the two widely-known giant Buddhas. The 53-meter and 35-meter tall Buddha statues, with thousands of caves for monk statues around them, are more than 1,500 years old -- reminders of the Buddhist civilization in the region.

In 2003, the cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamyan Valley was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

However, due to years of war and economic hardships, locals, many of whom even moved into caves, know little about the nearby World Cultural Heritage.

Hasanyar, in his 30s, is a local archaeologist. His courses are founded and guided by a group of young scholars from China's Peking University, Lanzhou University, Wenzhou University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Hong Kong-based non-profit Friends of Dunhuang.

According to Shao Xuecheng, a member of Friends of Dunhuang, kids from impoverished families were invited to attend the training activities on relevant knowledge by distributing bread.

"Thirty-seven students have been registered in the archeology course, which meets once a week, and the students are taught how to preserve ancient civilization and cultural heritages," Hasanyar told Xinhua.

Hasanyar thought these Chinese-funded courses are a good way to build public awareness of cultural heritage protection.

"It is a very important project because if we want to create a mentality in the society to protect cultural heritages, we have to start with children first," he said.

"I like coming here very much since our teacher has taught us a lot about the Buddha site," Hamida, 12, said after class. "I know that these are world cultural heritages and need to be protected now."

In addition, with specific suggestions and financial support from Chinese scholars, most of the caves near the Buddha site have been officially numbered and installed with introduction nameplates.

Expressing gratitude to the Chinese scholars, the provincial director for Information and Culture of Bamyan province, Saifulrahman Mohammadi, told Xinhua, "Chinese scholars have done a good job in preserving cultural heritages here and we are thankful to them."