Enjoy some of the largest and most imposing statues of the world!
1. Spring Temple Buddha
The biggest statue in the world, listed in the Guiness World Records! The statue depects Vairocana Buddha, who is considered a Primordial Buddha and he is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of Emptiness. It is located in the Zhaocun town of Lushan Country in China. The construction started after the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha by the Taliban, in Afganistan in 2001. The construction finished in 2008 and the Diamond Seat contains 6,666 small Buddha statues. The total high of the statue is 208 meters, it costs around 55$ million and made of 108kg gold! To reach the statue you need to climb almost 1000 stairs. It took its name from the nearby Tianrui hot spirng!
2. Laykyun Setkyar
This bright yellow statue is the third biggest in the world, reaching 130 meters high! It represents the Gautama Buddha, who is the primary figure in Buddhism and all his beliefs and rules are summarized and memorized by his followers after his death. In front of him there is also a huge reclining Buddha, whom follows monks and pilgirms to worship. The statue is located near Monywa town, 3 hours drive from Mondalay. There is also a third Buddha lying on his back. The construction began in 1996 and completed in 2008! Inside the statue there are 32 storeys, many of which are full of different kinds of Buddha statues and paintings.
3. Sendai Daikannon
The 6th biggest statue in the world, depicted the Goddess of Mercy. Also known as Guan Yin, a spiritual figure of mercy. Its name means "Perceiving the Sounds (or Cries) of the World"! The statue is located at the town of Sendai in Japan and it is 100 meters high! This “Big Kannon” holds a whishing stone on the right hand and a water jug on the left hand. The entrance is a dragon’s mouth and inside the statue there are 12 floors from where visitors can enjoy the amazing views to the city and the Pacific Ocean.
4. Rodina Mat’Zovyot
This woman statue, commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad. Also known as the Motherland Calls, this statue is located in Volgograd in Russia and it was built in 1967. It was designed by the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and the structural engineer Nikolai Nikitin. A work of the nationalist propaganda. Rodina Mat’Zovyot is the tallest woman statue in the world (not including pedestals), measuring 85 meters and the sword 33 meters. To reach the statue you need to climb 200 stairs which symbolize the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad!
5. African Renaissance Monument
The largest statue, not only in Senegal but in whole Africa! Perched on a hill called Collines des Mamelles, its a 49 meter tall bronze statue (taller than the Statue of Liberty in the U.S.A), which depicts a man, a woman and a child pointing West towards the sea. It was an idea based on Senegalese President Anoulaye Wade, who said that the monument will “symbolize that Africa which freed itself from several centuries of imprisonment in the abyssal depths of ignorance, intolerance and racism, to retrieve its place on this land, which belongs to all races, in light, air and freedom”. The statue was completed in 2010 ovelooking the Atlantic Ocean and the unreiviling marked Senegal’s 50 years of indepedence.
6. Thiruvalluvar
A stone statue 40-meters high, located 400 meters from the coastline of the Kanyakumari town, on a small islet on the southern Coromandel Coast. This statue is a sculpture of the Tamil poet and philosopher Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkurala, a work of ethics which consists 1330 couplets of Kurals. Tiruvalluvar represents “wealth” and “pleasures”. Inside the MAdapa, 140 steps are constructed so the tourists can worship the monument. Surrounding the Alankara Mandapa, there are 10 elephant statues signifiying 8 directions. The opening ceremony took place on the Millenium!