Spring Temple Buddha, Colossal Buddha statue in Lushan, China

The Spring Temple Buddha is a colossal gilded Vairocana Buddha in Zhaocun township, Lushan County, Henan. The figure itself measures 128 metres, a figure that includes the 20-metre lotus throne of pinkish-gold petals but not the 25-metre pedestal building beneath it. The statue stands on a white, multi-tiered square base with arched niches, above a wide stepped platform with a central staircase.

Construction of the statue ran from 1997 to 2008, and it was completed that year. Its plans were announced shortly after work began on the Maitreya Project statue in Bihar, India, and after the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, a destruction China condemned. The figure is Vairocana Buddha, and the monument was later remeasured to 208 m after the hill was reshaped.

The figure represents Vairocana, a Buddha form often associated with the sun and light across East Asia. Believers come here to pray and leave small offerings in the halls at the base of the statue.

Roads around Lushan lead directly to the temple complex, and many visitors spend several hours exploring the stairs and terraces. Nearby lodging and small restaurants serving local dishes are available.

The statue takes its name from a nearby hot spring that provides warm water throughout the year. More than a thousand individual copper plates were welded together during construction, causing the surface to shimmer slightly in sunlight.