Many largest statues have been constructed throughout history and in many countries. The Great Sphinx, built by the ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom, is 20 meters (66.34) high and is still one of the biggest statues in the world. Over the past 30 years, the world has seen the construction of ever taller and bigger statues. Take a look at the 7 biggest and tallest statues around the world nowadays.

1. Spring Temple Buddha - Pingdingshan Shi, China

Photo: Viettravel

The Spring Temple Buddha is a colossal statue depicting Vairocana Buddha located in the Zhaocun township of Lushan County, Henan, China, built from 1997 to 2008. It is located within the Fodushan Scenic Area, close to National Freeway no. 311. At 128 metres (420 ft), excluding a 25 metres (82 ft) lotus throne, it is the second-tallest statue in the world after the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India, which surpassed it in 2018 with a height of 182 metres (597 ft).

Taking into account the 25 metres (82 ft) pedestal/building atop which it is placed, the monument has a total height of 153 metres (502 ft). As of October 2008, the hill on which the statue stands is being reshaped to form two further pedestals, the upper one being 15 m tall. The total height of the monument is now said to be 208 m (682 ft).

The project as a whole was estimated to cost around $55 million, $18 million of which was to be spent on the statue. It was originally estimated to consist of 1,100 pieces of the copper cast, with a total weight of 1,000 tonnes.

The Spring Temple Buddha derives its name from the nearby Tianrui hot spring, whose water, at 60 °C (140 °F), is renowned in the area for its curative properties. The Foquan Temple, built during the Tang dynasty, houses the Bell of Good Luck, placed on top of Dragon Head peak. This bronze bell weighs 116 tonnes.

2. Laykyun Sekkya Buddha

Photo: TripAdvisor

Another sculpture that is able to impress with its size, is situated in Khatakan Taung. The monument of Laykyun Sekkya is dedicated to Buddha. The structure is 116 meters high and the pedestal is 13.4 meters. Construction of the monument began in 1996 and lasted for 12 years. It was officially opened in February 2008.

The greatest Buddhist monument is situated near the city of Mandalay, which, in turn, is considered to be a Buddhist center of the country. Not all travelers are aware of the fact that Laykyun Sekkya has a rather complicated device. The statue of standing Buddha hides 27 floors and a special elevator. The reclining statue houses a temple. The surrounding garden of Bodhi trees, where about 9 000 plants are planted, is another landmark. It is believed that Buddha attained enlightenment during the rest under the Bodhi Tree, according to OrangeSmile.

3. Ushiku Daibutsu Tsukuba

Photo: 4 Months of Tsukuba

Ushiku Daibutsu, located southeast of the city of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture, was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest Buddhist statue in the world (from 1993-2002) at 120 meters or equivalent to a 38-story building.

The height of the giant, bronze statue includes the 10 meter high base and 10 meter high lotus platform.

The Ushiku Daibutsu weighs an incredible 4000 tons and was built in 1993 to commemorate the birth of Shinran (1173-1263), the founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Japanese Buddhism, with its HQ at the Honganji temples in Kyoto.

Visitors can ride an elevator to the viewing gallery at 85 meters, from where there are incredible views on a clear day as far as the Tokyo Skytree, according to Japan Visitor.

4. Christ the King

Photo: On This Day

The Sanctuary of Christ the King (Portuguese: Santuário de Cristo Rei) is a Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ overlooking the city of Lisbon situated in Almada, in Portugal. It was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, after the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon visited that monument. The project was inaugurated on 17 May 1959. The giant statue was erected to express gratitude because the Portuguese were spared the direct destructive effects of World War II.

This 89-foot statue of Cristo Rei was constructed in 1996 as a present from Indonesia to East Timor. Indonesian President Suharto wanted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Indonesia's invasion and annexation of East Timor by half-apologizing to the East Timorese people for Indonesia’s decades of occupation. To please the Catholic majority, Suharto, a Muslim, built a giant statue of Jesus standing atop a globe, accessible by a 590-step staircase. The statue was built in the Indonesian city of Bandung, where nearly all of the workers carving the face of Jesus into copper were Muslim.

Despite three months of construction and a cost of 5 billion rupiahs ($559,000), the Indonesian government failed to appease the majority of East Timorese people. Part of the reasoning for this is that Suharto angled the statue to be facing the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, which caused controversy among the Timorese.

5. Guanyin of Nanshan

Photo: Wikipedia

The Guanyin of Nanshan is a 108-metre (354 ft) statue of the bodhisattva Guanyin, sited on the south coast of China's island province Hainan near the Nanshan Temple of Sanya. The statue has three aspects: one side faces inland and the other two face the South China Sea, to represent blessing and protection by Guanyin of China and the whole world. One aspect depicts Guanyin cradling a sutra in the left hand and gesturing the Vitaraka Mudra with the right; the second with her palms crossed, holding a string of prayer beads; and the third holding a lotus. As of 2018, this was the twelfth tallest statue in the world.

The statue took six years to build and was enshrined on April 24, 2005, with the participation of 108 monks from various Buddhist groups in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Mainland China, and tens of thousands of pilgrims. The delegation also included monks from the Theravada and Vajrayana traditions.

6. The Guanyin statue, Vietnam

The 67 m tall Guanyin Statue on Son Tra Peninsula in the central city of Da Nang. Photo by AFP

The Guanyin statue is considered the highest in Vietnam to date, towering at 67 meters.

Legend has it that a Buddha statue drifted downstream to the region and ran aground on a sandy embankment in the 19th century under the reign of King Minh Mang, the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last royal family in Vietnam’s feudal history (1802-1945).

Local fishermen thought it was a good omen and built a small pagoda to worship the statue. During the Vietnam War, the pagoda and the Buddha statue were almost totally destroyed.

The sandbank where the Buddha statue drifted was then named Bai But (Buddha's Sanctuary) and the Linh Ung Pagoda was built there.

Construction of the pagoda started in 2004 and finished six years later in 2010. Linh Ung Pagoda is considered as a symbol of the rise of Vietnam’s Buddhism in the 21st century.

Vietnam is a predominantly Buddhist nation. It is estimated that over 70 percent of the population are either Buddhist or follow Buddhist practices, according to VnExpress.

7. Emperors Yan and Huang

Photo: Viettravel

The sculpture of Emperors Yan and Huang is a monument in China that was carved from a mountain on the Yellow River. The overall monument height is 106 metres (348 ft); a 55-meter base platform with 51-meter busts on top. They depict two of the earliest Chinese emperors, Yan Di and Huang Di. The construction lasted 20 years and was completed in 2007, at a cost of US$22.5 million. They are located in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, the People's Republic of China. The statues commemorate politics and the economy.

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