The Mogao Caves (莫高窟) are a very special place in China, which lie in Dunhuang, Gansu Prvince. The Mogao Caves are thousands of years old. In 1987, they were listed as a world heritage (遗产) site by UNESCO.

Many people, including archaeologists (考古学家) and researchers, work hard to take care of the Mogao Caves and learn more about them. Fan Jinshi is one of them.

Fan Jinshi was born in Beijing on July 9, 1938. Her father graduated from Tsinghua University and he had a strong interest in Chinese classical art and culture.

Influenced by her father, Fan Jinshi liked visiting museums when she was in middle school. With the great love of Chinese culture, she studied in the archaeology department in Peking University and graduated in 1963. Then she started working at Dunhuang. There she spent almost 60 years taking care of Dunhuang. People call her the “Daughter of Dunhuang”.

On May 4, 2023, Fan Jinshi returned to Peking University. And she brought back 10 million RMB donations to set up the Fan Jinshi Educatio Fund (基金) to support the research of Dunhuarng at Peking University.

“Money should be spent in the right way. People cannot only think of themselves,” she said. “Hopefully the Fund can help Dunhuang studies at the university, so it can raise cultural confidence and strength.”