Restorer's hands-on approach

Chen caught up on her learning as she worked, asking more experienced colleagues for advice during the day, and studying book on restoration at night.

Her skills grew increasingly more proficient and, after five years of relentless study, Chen became a capable specialist, able to independently undertake restoration work.

As her experience grew, she developed her own distinctive four-pronged approach to cultural heritage diagnosis.

First, she notes all fractures and breaks, as well as the surface condition of the artifacts. She smells their surface to see if she can detect any traces of contamination or mildew, then asks custodians for the history of the changes the artifacts has undergone, before finally gently probing them to see if the surface loosens.

Her analyses have proved consistent with the results of mechanical testing, and so, as a result, Chen has been entrusted with a leading role in protecting the precious stone carvings from the high temperatures and humidity typical to China's southwest.

She has been involved in a number of major projects, one of the most prominent of which involved the eight-year restoration of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara — the goddess of mercy who is known as Guanyin in Mandarin — in Baodingshan, one of the five major rock carvings clusters in Dazu.

The statue originally featured stone carvings, gold plating and elements painted in vibrant colors, but, after more than 800 years, had fallen into a state of disrepair, exhibiting at least 34 different problems, ranging from broken fingers and peeling gold leaf paint.

"Observed at close quarters, it appeared to be pocked with scars," Chen recalls. As the director of the academy's conservation center, she led the subsequent, meticulous restoration project.

Chen and her team did a good deal of research before settling on the methods and materials for the repair.