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Leshan Buddha Meets Visitors After Facelift
The Leshan Giant Buddha, the world's tallest Buddha statue in southwest China's Sichuan Province, met with throngs of tourists Tuesday, the first day of the week-long holiday in China, after repairs had just been completed.
It is estimated that the number of visitors Tuesday exceeded 11, 000, and the number will keep on increasing in the following days, said Guo Mingxing, director of the Leshan tourism department.
The waiting queue at the foot of the Buddha extended over 200
meters long.
The large number of visitors has brought some potential dangers. The police presence in the area has been strengthened to keep order, and emergency plans have been made to evacuate the tourists.
Most of the visitors have read reports in newspapers about the facelift of the Buddha. The repairs, using high technology and under strict guidance of cultural relics experts, were reported to
be very successful.
The Buddha statue was built some 1,280 years ago during the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The statue represents
ancient China's high sculpture art.
In 1996, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization added the sculpture to the list of world heritage list.
The recent repairs to the statue started on March 24, and lasted for 36 days, costing over one million yuan.
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