Bamiyan, in Afghanistan, was famous for its:

Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan, was famous for two giant standing statues of the Buddha carved into a cliff, which were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001.

About the Bamiyan Buddhas:

• They were carved into the sandstone cliffs of the Bamiyan valley, in the Hindu Kush mountains.
• They were built in the 6th century CE (around 570 and 618 CE, according to radiocarbon dating).
• The larger statue was about 53-55 metres tall and the smaller one about 35-38 metres tall.
• They were among the largest standing Buddha statues in the world.
• The main body was carved from the rock, while the details of the robes and faces were made with mud and straw, covered with stucco and painted.
• Their style shows a blend of Gandhara (Graeco-Buddhist) and Central Asian art.
• The cliffs also have hundreds of caves, which were used as monasteries, with wall paintings (murals), some of which are among the earliest oil paintings in the world.
• Bamiyan was an important stop on the Silk Road, connecting China, Central Asia and India.
• The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Bamiyan in about 630 CE and described the statues, which were then decorated with gold and jewels.

Their destruction:

• In March 2001, the Taliban government blew up the statues with explosives, declaring them idols, despite international appeals.
• This act was condemned worldwide as a crime against cultural heritage.
• UNESCO declared the "Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley" a World Heritage Site in 2003, and placed it on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Other giant Buddha statues:

• The Leshan Giant Buddha in China (seated, about 71 metres tall).
• The Spring Temple Buddha in China.
• The Buddha statue in Hussain Sagar lake, Hyderabad.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bamiyan was a Buddhist centre, not known for Jain temples, Zoroastrian fire temples or a Hindu sun temple.