According to the official WeChat account of "Huotaishan Guangsheng Scenic Area," at approximately 11:20 AM on August 29, 2026, a tourist illegally climbed over the protective railing of a cultural relic and used their mobile phone flash to photograph a precious Yuan Dynasty mural at close range inside the Water God Temple in the Lower Temple of Guangsheng Temple Scenic Area. Scenic area staff immediately intervened and stopped the violation. The video of the incident circulated online, drawing widespread attention from the public and netizens.

After reviewing surveillance footage and conducting on-site inspections by cultural relics professionals, no direct physical damage identifiable to the naked eye was found to be present in the Yuan Dynasty murals at the Water God Temple. Although this action did not cause immediate visible damage, the use of flash photography poses a potential hazard to the ancient murals, as the continuous dose of instantaneous light can shorten their lifespan. Furthermore, unauthorized climbing over the protective barriers is a serious violation of the regulations for visiting cultural heritage sites and constitutes uncivilized tourist behavior.

In response to this incident, the scenic area has attached great importance to it, adhered to the bottom line of cultural relic safety protection, strengthened the promotion of civilized tourism behavior, and continued to increase the frequency of patrols in key areas to prevent such uncivilized individual visits from happening again.

Image source: "Huotaishan Guangsheng Scenic Area" WeChat Official Account

Civilized tourism begins with details, and the preservation of cultural relics requires steadfast commitment. Ancient buildings and murals carry the historical and cultural heritage of thousands of years; they are unique, irreplaceable, and irreplaceable precious cultural resources. Once damaged, they can never be restored. Protecting cultural relics is not only about protecting the cultural treasures of today, but also about preserving historical memory and passing on cultural roots for future generations, leaving behind valuable historical wealth and spiritual heritage for our descendants. The Huotaishan Guangsheng Scenic Area sincerely calls on all tourists to consciously abide by the regulations for visiting cultural relics, to respect history and cultural relics, to view them in a civilized manner and in accordance with regulations, and to jointly protect these millennia-old cultural treasures so that this precious cultural heritage can be passed down from generation to generation.

(Source: China.com)

Image source: "Huotaishan Guangsheng Scenic Area" WeChat Official Account