The institute conducts guided tours of selected caves throughout the year,[2] and collaborates with other organizations to increase digital access to artifacts, most notably through the International Dunhuang Project.

In 1907 and 1908, British and French expeditions led by Aurel Stein and Paul Pelliot, respectively, persuaded Wang to allow them to purchase and remove tens of thousands of items which were shipped to Europe and India.

Subsequently, historian Xiang Da persuaded Yu Youren, a prominent Kuomintang member and Nationalist government official, to propose the establishment of the Dunhuang Research Academy to prevent further destruction to the artifacts and artwork within the Mogao Caves.

The plan, which was drafted by commercial tourism development company Boya Strategy Consultation Group at the request of Gansu provincial officials, has been criticized and opposed by Fan Jinshi, longtime director of the Dunhuang Research Academy, and He Shuzhong of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center.

The partnership is focused on the development of technology for restoration and digitization of artifacts, as well as the creation of multi-media virtual tour presentations to "allow visitors to see more of the Dunhuang art in higher detail, and help conserve the treasures inside the caves.