China's obsession over giant statues

2012-05-16 12:57

By (chinadaily.com.cn)

Editor's note: Along with the decades-long surge of China's economy in modern times, China has witnessed another rising trend, that of building ever taller statues. Some local government or organizations are getting more fanatical about building giant staues. Except the Leshan Grand Buddha and Rongxian Buddha (both in Sichuan province), China's 27 statues taller than 16 meters were built in modern times. Ten of the world's 43 statues taller than 50 meters are in China. Nine of the 10 were built since the 1990s.

AD 803		1994

		Located 30 kilometers south of Guangzhou city, South China's Guangdong province, the 40.8-meter Kwan-yin statue is the tallest gold-plated bronze statue in the world. It was completed in 1994.

		1996
Situated 160 kilometers north of Chengdu city, Southwest China's Sichuan province, the 71-meter Leshan Grand Buddha was built in AD 803 during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It is still the biggest stone-carved Buddha in the world and was included on the World Heritage List. It was the world's biggest Buddha for 1,200 years. Now, it only ranks seventh in China in terms of height. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]		The 88-meter Lingshan Grand Buddha built in 1996 is the main tourist attraction at Lingshan Buddhist Scenic Spot in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province. It is a bronze statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]
1998

Xijiaoshan Kwan-yin Statue is61.9 meters high, situated on the top of a hill in Foshan city, South China's Guangdong province. It was completed in 1998 as the highest sitting Kwan-yin statue.

2005		2006

		Golden Statue of Puxian on Emei Mountain, in Sichuan province, was built in May 2006 and is48 meters high. This 66-ton bronze likeness is endowed with 10 heads "to catch winds from 10 directions."

The giant Kwan-yin statue is 108 meters high, located at Nanshan Temple in Sanya, South China's Hainan province. It was built in April 2005. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

2008		2007 The 106-meter statue of Yandi (left) and Huangdi emperors was finished in April 2007 in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province. Chinese often refer to themselves as "sons and grandsons of the emperors Huangdi and Yandi."
The Spring Temple Buddha built in 2008 is a statue depicting Vairocana Buddha in Zhaocun township of Lushan county, Central China's Henan province. At 128 meters, which includes a 20-meter lotus throne, it is the tallest statue in the world. If the statue's 25-meter pedestal is taken into account, the monument has a total height of 153 meters. The hill on which the statue stands was reshaped to form two more pedestals. The total height of the monument is now 208 meters. It is made of 108 kilograms of gold, 3,300 kilograms of alloy-copper and 15,000 tons of special steel. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

2009
2009		2010
		The huge statue of Guan Gong, an ancient Chinese marshal from the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280), in Yuncheng city, North China's Shanxi province, is made of copper and measures 61 meters. It was built in 2010, becoming the tallest statue of Duke Guan in the world. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

A thousand-hand Kwan-yin statue was finished in 2009 at Weishan Mountain in Central Hunan province. The statue is 99 meters high.