Construction of the largest Valokitesvara Bodhisattva statue and worshipping area worth VND12 billion (US$600,000), kicked off April 3 in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held by the province’s Buddhist Shangha with attendance of provincial leaders and thousands of monks and Buddhists.
The 32-meter-high statue will be located within the Khanh Phuoc Tam Linh Buddhist tourism area on 2 hectares of land at the historic Peak 601, an old battlefield, in Dak Ha District.
The area comprises a three-storey bell tower and a Nha Rong (communal long-house built on stilts), highlighting the history and cultural values of ethnic groups in Kon Tum Province. A Nha Rong is viewed as the soul of an ethnic village in the Central Highlands.
Peak 601 aims to encourage young people to remember the place where martyrs once sacrificed their lives for the motherland.
The tourism zone will also serve as a worshipping place for thousands of Buddhists, said the chairman of Dak Ha People’s Committee, Pham Duc Hanh.
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