Leshan Giant Buddha (World Wonder)
– Wei Gao, the Memorial of the Great Maitreya Statue at Jiazhou Lingyun Monastery
The Great Maitreya Statue at Jiazhou Lingyun Monastery, also known as the Leshan Giant Buddha, is the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world. This towering statue was carved out of Lingyun Mountain at the confluence of the Min River, Qingyi River and Dadu River. Legend says that the construction of the great statue was led by the Buddhist monk Hai Tong, in the hope that the power of the Maitreya Buddha would calm the waters. The construction of the statue was suspended several times after Haitong’s death, but was eventually completed with the financial support of the emperor and local officials, and took about 90 years to complete. The colossal statue was originally surrounded by a wooden pavilion of multiple storeys, but the pavilion has collapsed over the years. What remains are the hundreds and thousands of statues and shrines, together with the solemn Leshang Giant Buddha, bear witness to the flow of rivers and time itself.
Holy Sites and Aqueducts provide +1 Amenity if adjacent to wonders, +2 Housing if adjacent to Rivers, and +3 Production if adjacent to Mountains. Must be built on Mountains that does not contain a Volcano, and next to a River. +4 Faith Unlocked at the Guilds civic.
Supports English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Japanese.
Credits
Special thanks to IthildinX for importing the model and texture.
