Illustration: Liu Xidan/GT

Five years after being devastated by a fire,MKsport a restored Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral officially reopened on Saturday with a grand ceremony.

The rebirth has people feeling both excited and happy. Many have posted messages on social media platforms around the world, including China's Sina Weibo, causing topics like "Human civilization is endless" and "Rebirth from the ashes is emotional" to start trending. 

According to reports, more than 2,000 craftsmen and experts participated in the restoration work, which lasted five years and cost nearly 700 million euros ($739 million). Just clearing away the charred wood and other debris, and reinforcing the vaults and buttresses took more than two years, during which time the site also experienced the global pandemic, climate change, lead pollution and other issues. 

From destruction to restoration of the cathedral, we can see that when facing disasters, as long as we, human beings, have enough determination and wisdom, we can often create miracles. The restoration is gratifying, but it also reminds us to maintain awe and protect our cultural heritage like we do our own eyes.

The tragedy of Notre-Dame not only sounded the alarm for the protection of cultural heritage, but also made people deeply realize the urgency of putting protection first. It once again told the world that cultural heritage is extremely precious but fragile and faces many potential dangers and hazards. 

Due to natural disasters and accidents, non-renewable cultural heritage sites can be severely damaged, leading to a permanent loss. Sadly, such heartbreaking events happen from time to time. 

For example, the severe earthquake that occurred near the city of Kathmandu in central Nepal in 2015 caused 90 percent of the ancient buildings and religious temples in the Kathmandu Valley to collapse. In a flood a few years ago, part of the bridge deck of the 800-year-old Caihong Bridge in Wuyuan, East China's Jiangxi Province, was washed away.

All of these tragedies remind us that cultural heritage protection is a long-term proposition that requires more complete and practical protection measures and broader public participation. 

As a treasure of all mankind, cultural heritage requires more meticulous and scientific protection. It has been good to see that in recent years, in addition to rescue protection, many places have also paid more and more attention to exploring preventive protection measures.

Under the current circumstances, digitization and international collaboration can help the entire human race face the issue of cultural heritage protection together. 

There is a storyline in the Chinese science fiction novel The Three-Body Problemthat delves into how human civilization could be preserved when the Earth is facing destruction. Digital means were among the proposed solutions. Today, digitization is widely used in the protection and restoration of cultural heritage.

China's Dunhuang Academy has been working on the digital scanning of the murals at the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The academy can reproduce these precious caves using 3D printing at any place, allowing people around the world to enjoy the beauty from millennia ago. Similar digitization efforts have been introduced for most of China's cultural heritage, including the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Central China's Henan Province. 

No matter how perfect repairs may be, there will still be regrets when all is said and done. Therefore, digital technology should also play a greater role in the daily protection of cultural relics, such as using sensor networks to achieve all-round, all-weather monitoring of cultural relics, and using algorithms to provide useful information such as finding hidden dangers and risk assessment. The introduction of technological means will help cultural heritage protection reach the next level and change protection into active models.

International cooperation is making the world better through joint efforts. In terms of cultural heritage protection, countries are collaborating more and more closely. During the restoration of Notre-Dame, experts from the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum participated in the repairs. China and France jointly carried out research on the protection of the wooden remains and earthen remains of Notre-Dame and Emperor Qinshihuang's mausoleum.

Cultural heritage faces various risks. Some of them are faced by all countries, such as climate change's impact. Different experiences and knowledge can be exchanged between different countries when it comes to protection. For example, China has many wooden buildings, while foreign countries have rich experience in stone building protection. Through communication and collaboration channels, synergy can be formed in the research and restoration of world cultural heritage.

In recent years, many Chinese cultural experts have been actively involved in the restoration of overseas cultural relics, such as the restoration of the nine-story Basantapur temple complex in Nepal and the restoration of two important temples, the Chau Say Tevoda and the Ta Keo, in Angkor, Cambodia.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]