Dunhuang culture, which has evolved into a unique calling card of Chinese culture, has long attracted and held the attention of international friends. Pronkina Olga, a Russian who is teaching at Gansu University of Political Science and Law (GUPSL), in Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu Province, is one of those friends. She received the Dunhuang Award, presented by the People's Government of Gansu Province, in 2019. For the past decade, Olga has been deeply rooted in Gansu, from where she has devoted herself to studying, researching and promoting Dunhuang culture. Her efforts have helped the world appreciate the charm of the millennia-old Dunhuang culture. Olga has written a remarkable chapter in the friendly exchanges between China and other countries in the new era.
Bond with Dunhuang
Dunhuang, a historical and cultural city in Gansu, is home to the Mogao Grottoes, the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Olga, a huge fan of Dunhuang, has a strong bond with the city, which is on the ancient Silk Road.
Her connection with Dunhuang began 18 years ago, when she still lived in her hometown, Penza Oblast. "A song and dance troupe, from China, performed at Penza State University. One of the dances, Thousand-Hand Avalokitesvara, inspired by the Dunhuang murals, left a deep impression on me," Olga recalls. The experience sparked her interest in China, and in Dunhuang culture.
Lanzhou and Penza are international sister cities. In 2010, Olga moved to Lanzhou, where she worked as a translator and taught the Russian language.
"In 2013, I was assigned to translate books about the Dunhuang murals. At first, I didn't even know how to start, because there were many professional terms in Dunhuangology. I consulted different types of dictionaries to study the terms. I have visited the Dunhuang Museum many times. The museum has helped me understand Dunhuang's history, and ensure my translations have been correct. Through the translations, I have gained a deeper affection for Dunhuang culture," Olga says.
In 2015, Olga visited the Mogao Grottoes for the first time. "It was indescribable, and I just felt at ease there. I could see art, religion, architecture, various animals and the lifestyles of the ancient Chinese people. Literature is the most valuable part of Dunhuang culture. Through the literature, we can understand what's in the murals. That's why the Mogao Grottoes are precious," she says.
Since then, Olga has visited the Mogao Grottoes several times a year, to study Dunhuang culture on-site.
"The year, 2019, is important for me. I call it the Year of Dunhuang in my life, because I was admitted to the Institute of Dunhuang Studies of Lanzhou University, where I majored in Dunhuang studies. My life is inextricably linked to Dunhuang culture," Olga says.
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| Pronkina Olga and her doctoral supervisor Zheng Binglin, director of the Institute of Dunhuang Studies of Lanzhou University |
She studied under Professor Zheng Binglin, a renowned scholar of Dunhuang studies, and director of the institute. "She became the first Russian student to study Dunhuang culture at the university. I hope she will be an envoy of academic studies and exchanges between China and Russia," Zheng says.
In ancient Chinese texts, dun, as in Dunhuang, means great, and huang means prosperous. "Forming a connection with Dunhuang culture has benefited me tremendously. While researching Dunhuang studies, I have realized Chinese culture is truly extensive and profound," Olga says.
"If the ancient Silk Road were a golden crown, Dunhuang would be its crown jewel. The rich embodiment of Dunhuang studies, encompassing history, culture, economics, politics and religion, remains immensely valuable for research today. It represents the deep friendship among people, from all over the world, the crystallization of human wisdom, and the shared heritage of humanity. Undoubtedly, it is a classic, world-class encyclopedia," Olga adds.
The World Stage
As an international promoter of Dunhuang culture, Olga has worked hard to ensure the accuracy of her translations, and to promote the works globally, so Chinese culture is accessible to more people around the world.
The Readers Publishing Group building is adjacent to the Dunhuang Art Museum. Readers is one of the most popular magazines in China. Last year, Olga went to the publisher's building many times.
"Readers published a Russian version of the Dunhuang issue. I was truly honored to have been invited to serve as the translator," Olga says. She consulted a wide range of reference materials, and she meticulously worked through the special issue, sentence by sentence.
"I write scriptures on the moon, from which I cut an orange osmanthus brunch and worship it in the west of the Mogao Grottoes. Let the flying apsaras of Dunhuang be filled with fragrance all over. Life is like a feast. No one wants to leave." The above is an excerpt of a poem, Crescent Spring, by Chinese poet Ye Zhou, at the beginning of the special issue. Those lines of the poem deeply moved Olga.
The special issue received widespread acclaim during the 2024 Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo. In addition to researching Dunhuang culture and teaching the Russian language at GUPSL, Olga participates in various international-exchange activities.
"In 2023, I was invited to participate in a study tour involving international youth in China. It was a privilege to join scholars and experts in Dunhuang studies in sharing insights into the magnificent culture of Dunhuang, and the efforts being used to preserve cultural relics," Olga says.
She led some of her students in participating in the first Silk Road students roundtable dialogue. She also helped promote an international-exchange project, aimed at facilitating exchanges between primary and middle school students in Gansu Province, and students in other countries.
'Foreign Daughter' of Dunhuang
The 2024 International Forum on Cave Temple Protection was held in Dunhuang. Olga gave a speech, as a representative of youth scholars.
While she was excited to be a part of the forum, she was particularly excited to have an opportunity to meet her role model, Fan Jinshi, honorary president of Dunhuang Academy. "I told her I had a Ph.D. in Dunhuangology, I liked reading her books, and that I was greatly encouraged by her experience. I talked to her and shook hands with her. It was a dream come true," Olga says, still visibly moved when recalling her encounter with Fan.
Referred to as the "Daughter of Dunhuang," Fan has devoted more than half a century to researching and protecting the cultural relics of Dunhuang. She proposed the "Digital Dunhuang" concept in the late 1980s, to permanently preserve — by computer and digital-imaging technologies — the murals, painted sculptures and historical data in the Mogao Grottoes.
"Professor Fan's goal was quite simple. She wants to protect the heritage for future generations. Perseverance is not what she says, but what she does. The journey of academic studies often comes with loneliness, and a sense of tedium. My role model has steadfastly devoted herself to this journey, and she has reached the high level of excellence. I find no reason why I cannot follow suit," Olga says.
When she visited the Mogao Grottoes, in April 2023, Olga saw the mural of the nine-colored deer. She was surprised to find its striking resemblance to The Golden Antelope, a Russian animated film she had watched as a child.
"Somehow, I feel it wasn't me that chose to come to Dunhuang, but that Dunhuang chose me long ago. I hope to do as much as I can for it. If the widely beloved Fan is the ‘daughter of Duhuang,' then I hope I can be its ‘foreign daughter'," Olga says.
Witnessing Progress
As she has lived in China for more than a decade, Olga has witnessed China's continuous progress in the protection, inheritance and promotion of its cultural heritage. "China has been doing increasingly well in cultural-relic protection. The growing number of free museums satisfied people's need for diverse, and multilevel, culture in an even better way," she says.
"Many color-illustration books about Dunhuang's cultural relics have been published in China, helping to permanently preserve their original appearance. Digital technology has also revitalized cultural heritage, like the Dunhuang murals, caves and painted sculptures, and that has attracted more attention from people in China, and abroad," Olga adds.
During the summer of 2022, the Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow (Bronze Galloping Horse) plush toy, a cultural-creative product created and marketed by Gansu Provincial Museum, became a hit. Both online and offline demand was high.
"Such cultural-creative products, designed and produced based on cultural relics and heritage, are deeply loved by the public, especially children. Inheriting traditional culture should start with children," Olga says.
China has 7,046 registered museums, an increase of 213 over the past year, indicate statistics released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration earlier this year. Of those museums, 91.46 percent offer free admission. During the past year, more than 43,000 exhibitions and 511,000 educational activities, in museums across the country, attracted 1.49 billion visits.
Olga is excited by this development. "Archeological excavations are advancing in many parts of China, and we can expect more of these findings to be displayed in museums," she says.
Historically, Dunhuang was an important town, where diverse civilizations met. Dunhuang culture is the crystallization of long-term exchanges, and the collision of various civilizations. "I will continue to deepen my research in Dunhuang studies, translate more works, and serve as an envoy for cross-cultural dialogue," Olga says.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly October 2025)
Editor: Wang Shasha
