Suzhou Shangfang Mountain Big Golden Buddha Maitreya

In the Shangfang Mountain National Forest Park, a remarkable sight awaits: the "Sino-Japanese Peace Garden", with the giant golden statue of Maitreya Buddha standing on the top of the mountain. After climbing 198 steps of white Shandong stone you reach the majestic Maitreya Buddha statue and from this vantage point you can enjoy the splendid view of Suzhou!

I remember that the planning of the statue began in 1996: from the first drawings we moved on to the creation of a small all-round clay sculpture 1 meter high, and then to a large clay sculpture 15 meters high. The height of the statue made the work more difficult, the workers built a temporary "large work shed" on the construction site.
The great Buddha Maitreya was born smoothly and perfectly in this way! Since the whole project was complex and difficult, each stage required a lot of different manpower, material resources, methods and techniques! It took about two years until the Golden Maitreya Buddha was completed, thanks to everyone's intelligence, commitment and effort!

Now, almost thirty years later, when I saw this majestic golden statue of Maitreya Buddha facing east again, I was deeply moved. Time flies, but the Buddha statue still stands silently in the beautiful mountain scenery. It looks more solemn and elegant against the background of the lush forest. The brilliant golden light gives off a mysterious enchanting atmosphere. Its enormous scale and fascinating artistic complexity attract numerous Chinese and foreign tourists.