Login

Tian Tan Buddha

The Huge Seated Buddha

The Tian Tan Buddha is a famous landmark in Hong Kong, located at 482 meters above sea level at the peak top on Lantau Island, it is the tallest open-air bronze seated Buddha in the world. The design of Tian Tan Buddha is extremely elaborate in every detail of the Buddha's face, clothing, and even the pedestal beneath him.

The Tian Tan Buddha 天壇大佛, or The Big Buddha (Hong Kong), is one of Hong Kong’s famous landmarks, located at the peak top on Lantau Island, 482 meters above sea level, and is the tallest open-air bronze seated Buddha in the world, whose construction process lasted 20 years.

The Origin of the Tian Tan Buddha

In 1973, several priests from Po Lin Monastery were invited to Japan for an exchange and were impressed by the Great Buddha of Kamakura, Japan, and when they passed through Changhua, Taiwan, they were struck by the majesty of the Great Buddha of Baguashan in Changhua. Upon their return to Hong Kong, they decided to build an open-air Buddha near the Po Lin Monastery as well, in order to better preach the Dharma and Salvation of sentient beings.

Mountain Top Bronze Buddha

The Three-level Pedestal Structure supporting the Buddha was inspired by The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, which is also the origin of the name “Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) Buddha”. In addition, the statue also has inspirations from The Graceful Facial Expression of Vairocana Buddha in the Longmen Grottoes, and The Clothing of Sakyamuni Buddha in Dunhuang Grottoes.

During the actual construction stage, the body of the Buddha was divided into different parts, for the manufacturer to make corresponding bronze plates, and then transported to Lantau Island for the final assembly. A total of 202 giant copper sheets were used for the statue, with a total weight of 250 tons, and the head of the Buddha alone weighed 5 tons. Moreover, some pure gold was melted into the Buddha’s head to reduce the erosive effect of the harsh weather conditions.

Manywhere Trivia:
The Tian Tan Buddha was built by Nanjing Chenguang Group, together with other famous Buddha statues, such as the Lingshan Buddha in Wuxi and the Guanyin of Nanshan in Sanya. Nanjing Chenguang Group was founded by Li Hongzhang in the Qing Dynasty as the Jinling Machinery Manufacturing Bureau.

Icon of Lantau Island, Hong Kong

The completed Tian Tan Buddha reaches a total height of 34 meters and sits on top of A Lotus Throne. There is a 268-step Pilgrimage Path from Po Lin Monastery at the bottom of the mountain to the Big Buddha at the top. Follow the steps up, you will feel that you are far away from the intrusion of the world. When you come to the Buddha statue and bow down sincerely, don’t forget to look around the mountains and The Monastery Under Your Feet, the scenery won’t let you down.

The Carved Patterns

Inside the Buddha’s body, a Hall of Merit is built, and in the middle of it is enshrined Earth Store Bodhisattva (Ksitigarbha) carved from a 100-year old Nanmu wood. The walls are also covered with beautiful pictures drawn by Sri Lankan priests, telling the story of Buddha’s birth, attainment, Preaching Dharma and nirvana.

On July 1, 1997, when Hong Kong returned to China, Six Statues of Celestial Ladies were placed around the Tian Tan Buddha, each holding a different offering, symbolizing the Six Paramitas of Generosity, Virtue, Patience, Energy, Concentration, and Wisdom.