Construction of the Dongfang Hong Hydroelectric Plant in the 1970s caused the water level of theMuzat River to rise and has increased the rate of decay of the wall paintings.[1] Long-term preservation measures under the auspices ofUNESCO began in 1999 with extensive documentation and survey work andconsolidation of theconglomerate rock from which the caves are excavated.[1][9] The site was among the first to be designated for protection in 1961 as aMajor National Historical and Cultural Site.[10] In 2008 Kumtula Grottoes was submitted for future inscription on theUNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Chinese Section of the Silk Road.[11]
^Wang Weidong, ed. (2008).库木吐喇石窟内容总录 [A general record of the Kumtura caves] (in Chinese). 文物出版社.ISBN9787501023844.
^(Other than Kizil)... "The nearby site of Kumtura contains over a hundred caves, forty of which contain painted murals or inscriptions. Other cave sites near Kucha include Subashi, Kizilgaha, and Simsim." inBuswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (24 November 2013).The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 438.ISBN978-1-4008-4805-8.
![Donors in Hephthalite style, Kumtura Caves. Similar donors can be seen in the Kizil Caves.[12][13] Circa 500 CE.[14][15]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aDonors_from_Kumtura_Caves.jpg)
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