Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Yao Gang) news: The spring dust storms have kept tourists away from the Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins at the southern foot of the Queletage Mountains, but Xiao Zhanyu is used to such weather. On the afternoon of April 17, 2025, as a member of the Kuqa City Cultural Relics Survey Team, Xiao once again visited this site, where he had served as a guardian for five years. It is the largest Buddhist temple ruins in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and he was there to conduct the fourth national survey of cultural relics.

Since he began his career in cultural relics protection in 1999, Xiao, 56, has left his footprints at more than 200 immovable cultural relic sites in Kuqa. His years of field surveys have made him lean and strong, and his colleagues have nicknamed him the "living encyclopedia of cultural relics." "Now we spend over a month every year visiting all these sites," he said. During the fourth national survey, whenever the younger team members had questions, Xiao, who has been in the field for 25 years, was always able to provide answers.

Photo shows Xiao Zhanyu at the Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Yao Gang)

Walking on the wooden walkway at the Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins, Xiao ran his hand over the weathered walls and looked at the remains of the main hall, pagodas and other structures. Among all the cultural relic sites in Kuqa, he has the deepest affection for this temple. In 1999, at the age of 28, he became the first full-time guardian of the site. Back then, the guard house had just been electrified. He had to ride his motorcycle to the county town twice a week to buy supplies, and his only entertainment at night was a TV and a DVD player he brought with him.

On June 22, 2014, the ancient temple, a witness to the Silk Road civilization, saw a major opportunity. As part of the "Silk Roads: Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor," a joint world heritage nomination by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, it was officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The remaining walls, three meters wide and more than ten meters high, have stood for nearly 1,500 years. They were built with rammed sandstone and adobe bricks, and the niches in the walls still show the traces of the huge pillars that once supported the dome of the main hall.

"These niches are like a living textbook of architectural history," Xiao said, pointing to the walls. Over the past 25 years, he has seen the site's protection improve. Fences have replaced the barbed wire used by herdsmen, flood embankments have been built along the Kuqa River, and digital monitoring equipment has been installed. He is pleased that as tourists learn about Kuqa's Qiuci culture through the site, their awareness of cultural relics protection has also increased. "No one climbs the walls to take photos anymore," he said.

Now working as a survey team member, Xiao still makes a habit of inspecting the site every month. He was part of the Youyilu Cemetery archaeological project of Kuqa, which was selected as one of the "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China" in 2007. The ongoing Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins archaeological project aims to solve the mystery of the temple's layout. "I want to play the role of the 'living encyclopedia' and lead the team to protect the cultural relics and historical sites on this land," he said to the younger members.

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