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Facelift on Leshan Buddha Statue Successful: Experts
The largest ever facelift of the Leshan Giant Buddha, the world's tallest Buddha statue in southwest China's Sichuan Province, was very successful, said an expert Monday.
The recent repairs, using high technology and under strict direction of cultural relics experts, restored the giant Buddha's original appearance, said Huang Xueqian, who has engaged in cultural relics protection for decades.
The repairs included cleaning up the body of the statue, filling up cracks, and installing drainage devices.
Jin Hongkui, deputy director of the cultural relics protection department under the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said preparations for the repairs, including thorough examinations of the statue, started over ten years ago.
The repairs not only cleaned up the dirty face of the statue, but also protected its red sandstone body, said Jin.
After two rainfalls, no water seepage was found in the face of the Buddha, which shows that the waterproofing treatment to the statue has been a success, said Zeng Zhiliang, an expert on ancient buildings.
The Buddha statue was built some 1,280 years ago during the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history. The statue represents ancient China's high sculpture level. In 1996, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization put it in the list of world heritage sites.
The recent repairs to the statue started on March 24, and lasted for 36 days, costing over one million yuan.
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