Dimples can be seen in this view of the grinning Bodhisattva statue. [Photo/Yungang Grottoes]

A photo of a smiling Bodhisattva statue with dimples from Shanxi's Yungang Grottoes has gone viral since it was unveiled at a recent photography exhibition.

The Bodhisattva statue, from the eighth cave of the world cultural heritage site, has a long history of more than 1,500 years.

The statue, around 2 meters high, is sculpted with its palms together and a satisfied grin and dimples on her face. "A grinning Bodhisattva statue is very rarely seen in the field of the world's Buddhist statue art", Zhang Hua, a researcher from the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute said, according to the Shanxi Evening News.

The statue was fully revealed to the public thanks to photographer Zhang Haiyan, who spent several days finding the best angle for the photo, with the help of an artificial light source during his shoot last year.

The special Bodhisattva statue caught his attention as early as the 1990s, but due to the dark light, he didn't see the dimples on the statue's face.

A recent exhibition of his photographs during the recent photo exhibition held within the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute fully presents the beauty of the dimpled Bodhisattva statue.

"The grinning Bodhisattva statue seems lively and adorable, and has broken China's old feudal concept that girls shouldn't reveal their teeth when smiling and feet when walking", Zhang said.