Have fun in the sky with these 10 incredible statues
Do you know which is the tallest statue in Latin America? Find out here
From Russia and India to Puerto Rico, in LatinAmerican Post we bring you a list of the 10 tallest statues that you can find in many parts of the world and that you should know.
Leer en español: Diviértete en las alturas con estas 10 increíbles estatuas
1. Statue of the unit. Gujarat, India
This statue is a monument to one of the founders of modern India, the politician Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who managed to get the states of the Indian Union to integrate peacefully. The monument has a height of 182 m (240 m if the base is counted) and is located next to the Narmada river. The project was announced in October 2010 and was inaugurated on October 31 of this year. It is currently the tallest statue in the world.
2. Spring Temple Buddha. Henan, China
The monument represents Vairochana, the principal of the Five Buddhas of Wisdom. This 128 m high statue is the largest representation of Vairochana and has a throne shaped like a lotus flower. If you count the building you are measuring 153 meters above. This Buddha was built between 1997 and 2008 and is located in the protected reserve of Fodushan, renowned for its beautiful landscapes. It is the second tallest statue today.
3. Laykyun Setkyar. Khatakan Taung, Burma
This statue is a representation of the Siddhartha Gautama Buddha of Laykyun Setkyar, the sage in whose teachings and thoughts Buddhism was founded. It has a height of 116 m, plus a pedestal of 13.5 m on which it is placed. The construction of the monument began in 1996 and was inaugurated in February 2008.
4. Sendai Daikannon. Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan
This statue is a representation of Kannon, a bodhisattva worshiped in Japan for her kind nature. There are many representations of Kannon, but this is the most important with a height of 100 m. It was inaugurated in 1991, when it became the tallest statue in the world, although today it is ranked number 7.
5. Great Buddha of Thailand. Ang Thong, Thailand
This is the tallest statue in all of Thailand and ranks 10th out of the tallest statues in the world. It has a height of 92 m high and 63 m wide; its construction began in 1990 and ended in 2008. This is also a representation of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama and is made of cement and painted in gold.
6. Statue of the Motherland. Volgograd, Russia
This statue is also known as The Motherland Calls and it is a commemoration of the Battle of Stalingrad that took place in World War II. The construction began in 1959 and it was inaugurated in 1967, the year in which it had the position of the largest statue in the world, today occupies the position 13. It has a height of 85 m and in matters of engineering, this is a much more complex statue than the others.
7. Leshan Giant Buddha. Sichuan, China
This is a stone sculpture of 71 m high by 28 m wide and was built during the Tang dynasty. It is also located between a mountain, so its beauty is exuberant, so much so that in 1996 Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site. The Min Jiang, Dadu, and Qingyi rivers pass around the mountain which allows the place to be perfect for a time of meditation.
8. Birth of a New World. Arecibo, Puerto Rico
The highest statue in Latin America arrived in Puerto Rico in 1998, but it was not until 2010 that the workers began on its construction that is part of a tourist project called Terravista Parkland. The structure weighs 6500 tons, has a height of 126 m, is made from pieces of bronze and was made to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas.
9. Guerrero Chimalli. Chimalhuacán, Mexico
This statue made from geometric shapes is the second tallest statue in Latin America. It was inaugurated in 2014 and draws the attention for its strong red color. It weighs approximately 600 tons, has a height of 65 m and its base is also a museum. The figure represents a Mesoamerican warrior who carries a shield used at the time, called Chimalli.
10. African Renaissance Monument. Dakar, Senegal
This sculpture is made of bronze plates and has a height of 49 m. The construction started in 2008 and was inaugurated in 2010 and the cost was 27 million dollars. This work represents an African family and has 198 steps to climb the sculpture.
LatinAmerican Post | Vanesa López Romero
Copy edited by Diana Rojas Leal
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