Faded ancient Chinese paintings revived with AI-powered restoration

Researchers at Chinese universities, backed by AI large model-powered restoration technology, are capable of reviving faded ancient Chinese paintings to somewhat bring back to life the original brilliance of precious cultural relics.

At the Laboratory of Art and Archaeology Image at the Zhejiang University in east China's Zhejiang Province, an artwork restoration team is employing advanced AI models to digitally restore the colors of the thousand-year-old traditional painting "Palace Lady Waving a Fan", which has significantly faded over time.

"By incorporating all our previous know-how, methods, paper outcomes about art restoration into a single AI model, we have obtained a very useful AI-powered restoration assistant," said Tang Tan, a research fellow with the School of Art and Archaeology of Zhejiang University.

In the past, restoring ancient paintings would mainly depend on the experience of restorers, who analyze the colors and conduct multiple digital simulations. Now, with the help of large AI models, the pigment composition of the painting can be analyzed, and AI can also factor in the painting's creation period and the artist's style to select the most accurate color scheme.

After the AI completes the visual simulation, restorers can manually verify the effects in the lab in the simulative color restoration.

"This is our materials lab. To restore the original colors of ancient paintings, we seek out materials to replicate the pigments historically used in the creation of artworks. For example, we apply these pigments onto reproductions of silk or paper, mimicking the original techniques and materials," Tang said.

The restoration team has digitally restored over 100 ancient paintings so far using the AI large model.

Moreover, they are collecting data on various colors, compositions and other aspects from past artworks, and using the vast information to retrain their AI model.

"We aim to integrate comprehensive knowledge of the full history of Chinese painting, including detailed depiction and color information of each artwork. This will enable us to build a database that will, in turn, enhance the expertise of our general AI model," Tang noted.

Faded ancient Chinese paintings revived with AI-powered restoration

Thailand has temporarily closed more than 1,000 schools in border areas following a new round of armed clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops along their shared border.

The Thai Ministry of Education ordered the suspension of classes on Friday in seven provinces bordering Cambodia, affecting a total of 1,060 schools, to ensure the safety of students and teachers.

Buriram Province is among the areas most affected by the renewed fighting, with more than 100 schools shut down. At local shelters, displaced residents, including children and teenagers, have sought refuge as fighting continues.

One girl said she had stayed in the shelter for 11-12 days already. "I moved here because of the clashes between Thailand and Cambodia," she said, adding that she could hear very loud gunfire at her home.

She said school won't be open until the clashes end, and she misses her classmates very much.

A teenage boy in the shelter expressed the same emotions.

"It's been 13 days since I moved here. I heard gunfires at home and I was so scared that I moved to the shelter. I want to return to school to study and see my friends," he said.

A displaced woman recalled her time in a shelter when border clashes between the two countries broke out earlier this year.

"I stayed in the shelter for a week when the last clashes broke out. This time I don't know how long I need to stay here before I can return home," she said.

Border clashes between the two sides reignited on Dec 7, less than two months after the two sides signed a joint peace declaration, with both sides trading the blame for instigating the attacks.

Thailand closes over 1,000 schools near border amid armed clashes with Cambodia