Fan Jinshi (third from left) talks to her students about the research at one of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu province, in 2004.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Peng, born in Suning in Hebei, was one of the co-founders of the archaeology department of Wuhan University. He was credited with increasing the number of labeled caves from 492 to 735, from 1988 to 1995. During the excavations, a number of important ruins and precious relics were discovered, many of which provided evidence of cultural exchanges between China and other countries. On July 29, 2017, Peng died of cancer.

"Without my husband, I wouldn't have become the person I am today. He knew my love for Dunhuang and why I couldn't leave, so he sacrificed his career at Wuhan University and moved to Dunhuang to support me," says Fan, who is now 81. "When we were at university, he bought me handkerchieves after he noticed me wrapping one around my wrist. He always saved a seat for me in the library. During the days when we lived apart, he wrote me lots of letters, which were a great comfort and helped me to get through those difficult times. My husband was very romantic although he never said 'I love you' to me."

Their love story was recorded in Fan's autobiography that was published by Yilin Press in October and has been adapted to form part of Eternity: Butterfly Lovers, a stage production written to mark the 60th anniversary of the well-known Chinese violin concerto Butterfly Lovers.

The show will premiere in Shanghai on Nov 17 before moving to Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Nov 25 and then onto Beijing on Dec 24.