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November 9th, 2007, 07:28 AM
THE world's tallest stone-carved Buddha is to get another 'facelift' - barely six years after the last repair effort - as the Chinese authorities struggle to fend off the effects of pollution and huge crowds
http://www.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/news/11Nov07/20071109.070135_pollution.jpg
LESHAN (CHINA) - THE world's tallest stone-carved Buddha is to get another 'facelift' - barely six years after the last repair effort - as the Chinese authorities struggle to fend off the effects of pollution and huge crowds.
The Leshan Buddha is just one of many Chinese natural and cultural heritage sites to succumb to the vagaries of weather, air pollution, inadequate protection and the negative impact of swarms of tourists, the Xinhua news agency said.
In fact, such ravages are leaving their marks on more than 80 per cent of China's 33 United Nations- designated World Heritage sites, according to Xinhua.
Although factories and power plants close to the Leshan Buddha, located in south-western Sichuan province, have been ordered to shut down in recent years, smokestacks farther away continue to spew toxic gases into the air, which return to earth as acid rain.
The authorities had already given the 71m-high Buddha, which was carved into a cliff face some 1,300 years ago, a 250 million yuan (S$48.5 million) facelift in 2001.
Now, the seated figure is again stained black, mainly because of acid rain, said Mr Li Xiaodong, a researcher who has studied the impact of air pollution on Leshan.
Local officials are also grappling with growing hordes of tourists visiting the 19-storey-high Buddha.
'If this continues, the Buddha will lose its nose and even its ears,' said Mr Li.
'It will become just a piece of rock.'
A team of scientists is currently carrying out preparation work for repairs next year.
Ironically, such batterings are a by-product of the rapid economic development that has lifted so many Chinese out of poverty.
Mr Peng Xueyi, director of the Leshan Cultural Relics Management Institute, said maintenance projects on the Buddha need to be undertaken every five years.
About 1,207km to the north in Shanxi province, clouds of black dust drifting off coal trucks have damaged the Yungang Grottoes, a World Heritage site in the heart of China's coal belt.
The 250 caves hold more than 50,000 statues of Buddha dating back to the 5th century, their heights ranging from less than 2.5 cm to as high as 17m.
The authorities relocated nearby factories and re-routed truck traffic in 1998. But much of the coal dust has been left on the statues for fear that the sandstone might not survive a thorough cleaning process.
As visitors weave in and out of the caves, the damaged statues are easy to pick out. Their red, blue and yellow colours are faded and they look as if they are wearing a black trench coat or skirt.
'As you can see, the statues are dirty and it's from coal, of course,' said Ms Ren Yunxia, 21, a student from nearby Linfen.
'It upsets me. But the whole world is developing and you can't avoid this kind of pollution,' she added.
REUTERS, XINHUA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/The%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20071109-35326.html
http://www.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/news/11Nov07/20071109.070135_pollution.jpg
LESHAN (CHINA) - THE world's tallest stone-carved Buddha is to get another 'facelift' - barely six years after the last repair effort - as the Chinese authorities struggle to fend off the effects of pollution and huge crowds.
The Leshan Buddha is just one of many Chinese natural and cultural heritage sites to succumb to the vagaries of weather, air pollution, inadequate protection and the negative impact of swarms of tourists, the Xinhua news agency said.
In fact, such ravages are leaving their marks on more than 80 per cent of China's 33 United Nations- designated World Heritage sites, according to Xinhua.
Although factories and power plants close to the Leshan Buddha, located in south-western Sichuan province, have been ordered to shut down in recent years, smokestacks farther away continue to spew toxic gases into the air, which return to earth as acid rain.
The authorities had already given the 71m-high Buddha, which was carved into a cliff face some 1,300 years ago, a 250 million yuan (S$48.5 million) facelift in 2001.
Now, the seated figure is again stained black, mainly because of acid rain, said Mr Li Xiaodong, a researcher who has studied the impact of air pollution on Leshan.
Local officials are also grappling with growing hordes of tourists visiting the 19-storey-high Buddha.
'If this continues, the Buddha will lose its nose and even its ears,' said Mr Li.
'It will become just a piece of rock.'
A team of scientists is currently carrying out preparation work for repairs next year.
Ironically, such batterings are a by-product of the rapid economic development that has lifted so many Chinese out of poverty.
Mr Peng Xueyi, director of the Leshan Cultural Relics Management Institute, said maintenance projects on the Buddha need to be undertaken every five years.
About 1,207km to the north in Shanxi province, clouds of black dust drifting off coal trucks have damaged the Yungang Grottoes, a World Heritage site in the heart of China's coal belt.
The 250 caves hold more than 50,000 statues of Buddha dating back to the 5th century, their heights ranging from less than 2.5 cm to as high as 17m.
The authorities relocated nearby factories and re-routed truck traffic in 1998. But much of the coal dust has been left on the statues for fear that the sandstone might not survive a thorough cleaning process.
As visitors weave in and out of the caves, the damaged statues are easy to pick out. Their red, blue and yellow colours are faded and they look as if they are wearing a black trench coat or skirt.
'As you can see, the statues are dirty and it's from coal, of course,' said Ms Ren Yunxia, 21, a student from nearby Linfen.
'It upsets me. But the whole world is developing and you can't avoid this kind of pollution,' she added.
REUTERS, XINHUA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/The%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20071109-35326.html