Photo: Yi Hong/Xiao Jingwei

Home to more than 2,000 incredibly rare and sublimely carved Buddhist painted statues, the fascinating Shuanglin Temple in the ancient town of Pingyao, Shanxi province, made it to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1997. Behind the coveted glory, however, lies the arduous efforts of curators and preservationists who went beyond their call of duty to protect the over 1,400-year-old edifice from crumbling.

Source: The sentinels of Shuanglin