BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China has released the first batch of images captured by its first remote-sensing monitoring satellite dedicated to cultural heritage protection and the safeguarding of its cultural relics.
The Wenwu-01 satellite was launched on June 15, 2026 by a Lijian-1 carrier rocket from a commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.
China has diverse cultural heritage resources, including cultural relics such as ancient buildings, archaeological sites, and cave temples, as well as ultra-long linear cultural sites like the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Many of these sites are in remote areas like deep mountains, deserts and river valleys, where the environment is complex and the costs of manual access and long-term on-site monitoring are extremely high.
Traditional cultural relic protection has mainly relied on manual patrols, local reporting and drone-based spot checks. However, these methods have significant limitations, including limited coverage, low monitoring frequency and lagging data updates.
Unlike conventional remote-sensing satellites, Wenwu-01 has been specifically optimized for cultural heritage protection missions. Its purpose is not to identify the heritage structures themselves, but to monitor changes in the external environment surrounding them.
The satellite features high-resolution imaging capabilities with a resolution reaching half a meter, enabling it to detect subtle surface disturbances. It is equipped with an AI recognition model trained specifically on cultural heritage scenes, allowing it to accurately identify changes in site boundaries and abnormal construction activities. It also has a higher revisit frequency and observation capability, supporting continuous dynamic monitoring of key areas.
The satellite can conduct routine dynamic inspections of protected areas. Through multi-temporal image comparisons, it can accurately identify illegal activities, helping to prevent development activities from damaging historical sites.
In addition, the satellite can perform long-term monitoring of surface deformation at heritage sites, providing early warnings for disaster risks such as landslides, floods, wind-sand erosion and land subsidence. ■
