SSC
The Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in:
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Answer: Option C — China
Detailed Solution
The Leshan Giant Buddha is located near the city of Leshan in Sichuan province, south-western China.
About the Leshan Giant Buddha:
- It is a 71-metre-tall (about 233 feet) stone statue of the Maitreya Buddha (the future Buddha), carved into a red sandstone cliff.
- It is the largest stone Buddha statue in the world, and was the tallest statue in the world for more than a thousand years.
- It sits at the meeting point of three rivers: the Minjiang, the Dadu and the Qingyi.
- Its construction was started in 713 CE, during the Tang dynasty, by a Chinese monk named Haitong, and it was completed about 90 years later, in 803 CE.
- Haitong hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that endangered ships on the rivers.
- A drainage system hidden inside the statue's hair, ears and clothing helps protect it from weathering.
- Its shoulders are about 28 metres wide, and each of its big toes is large enough for several people to sit on.
- In 1996, the "Mount Emei Scenic Area, including the Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area" was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (a mixed natural and cultural site).
About Mount Emei:
- It is one of the "Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains" of China; it is associated with the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.
- The first Buddhist temple in China is believed to have been built there in the 1st century CE.
Other famous Buddha statues:
- Bamiyan Buddhas (Afghanistan): two giant standing Buddhas (about 55 m and 38 m) carved in the 6th century; destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001.
- Spring Temple Buddha (Henan, China): about 128 m including its base; one of the tallest statues in the world.
- Great Buddha of Kamakura (Japan): a bronze statue from the 13th century.
- Tian Tan Buddha (Hong Kong).
- Buddha Statue, Hussain Sagar Lake (Hyderabad, India).
- Statue of Unity (Gujarat, India): the tallest statue in the world (182 m), of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Afghanistan had the Bamiyan Buddhas, which were destroyed in 2001.
- ✗Myanmar has many large Buddha statues, such as the reclining Buddhas, but not the Leshan Buddha.
- ✗Japan has the Great Buddha of Kamakura and Nara.
Quick tip
Remember: Leshan Giant Buddha = Sichuan, China (71 m; Maitreya; carved 713-803 CE in the Tang dynasty; UNESCO 1996 with Mount Emei); Bamiyan Buddhas = Afghanistan (destroyed 2001); tallest statue = Statue of Unity.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.