International   

Buddha statue to get a facelift

PHOTO: AFP

The Giant Buddha in China's southwestern city of Leshan, Sichuan province.

CHENGDU (CHINA): The world’s tallest Buddha in southwest China’s Sichuan Province will receive another facelift to repair damage caused by weathering and acid rain.

The 71-metre-high statue, just outside the city of Leshan, had a blackened nose, and moss and dark streaks coated its face and body, said Peng Xueyi, director of the Leshan Cultural Relics Management Institute. “Our initial research shows the phenomena resulted from the combined effects of blossoming microbes nurtured by high humidity, weathering, and acid rain,” Mr. Peng said.

He said a group of scientists had started research on the exact causes, and were preparing for another “facial” on the giant Buddha next year. “We will fix the wear and tear it suffered over the years, and at the same time, keep its ‘historical coarseness’,” he said.

The Buddha statue, carved into a cliff in Leshan Mountain and overlooking three converging rivers, was built over a 90-year period starting the year 713 A.D., during the Tang dynasty.

The U.N.-listed world cultural heritage statue has undergone several repairs and checks. In 2001, a 250-million-yuan project was conducted to clean the body, cement rock structure, and mend cracks and install drainage pipes. But the pace of weathering and damage caused by visitors has outpaced the protection work.

Meanwhile, conservationists have called on the local government to clean up the environment of the statue. “Only through a comprehensive reformation of the surrounding environment can its aging process be delayed,” Mr. Peng said.

The Leshan government has extended the Buddha scenic area from 2.81 square km to 17.88 square km in the last decade.

Since 2003, about 3,000 residents have been relocated from the scenic area, and 20 coal-fired power plants, leather factories and other small workshops have been moved. — Xinhua

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Refusal to set date for ending Emergency adds to uncertainty
Buddha statue to get a facelift
Ex-U.K. soldier held for “spying” for Russia
U.N. official in Myanmar
LTTE chief’s days are numbered: air force chief
Bush hails Musharraf for promise to lift emergency
Fierce storm in Black Sea strait splits oil tanker into two
Nuclear reactor shut down
‘Conflict will deepen divisions in Sri Lanka’
Pakistan eager to transfer gas to India, China
India falls off the league table of top universities
“World Bank funds to fight TB inadequate”
Dubai firm plans big investment in India

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu