Authorities in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have signed an agreement with an Italian heritage entity to restore Taoist statues in the region.

The Shuchengyan Taoist statues, dating back to the 12th century, are part of the Dazu Rock Carvings, a World Heritage site incorporating over 100,000 religious statues in Chongqing's Dazu County.

Over the centuries, the statues' color has faded, some of the gold foil covering them has peeled off, and cracks have appeared.

Under the agreement signed Friday, Venetian Heritage Cluster will use advanced technologies to preserve the integrity and authenticity of the statues during the restoration work.

The Italian team previously worked on some of the statues with the Dazu Rock Carvings in 2007.

The Dazu Rock Carvings date from the 9th to 13th centuries and were placed on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999.

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