Announcing the record for the largest Buddha statue on Cam Mountain

On May 29, the People's Committee of An Giang province held a ceremony to announce the Asian record for the Maitreya Buddha statue on top of Cam Mountain (Thien Cam Son), An Hao Commune, Tinh Bien District, as the largest Buddha statue on the mountain.



Maitreya Buddha statue on top of Cam mountain with a peaceful, compassionate smile
- Photo: Duc Vinh

Cam Mountain is 710m above sea level, the highest mountain in the That Son range of An Giang province, has beautiful scenery, cool weather and is known as Da Lat of the Mekong Delta. This is also a place associated with many legends about history, culture, religion, spirituality, so it attracts many tourists to come for pilgrimage and sightseeing.

To have a culturally significant project to serve the spiritual needs of pilgrims, on March 4, 2004, An Giang province built a Maitreya Buddha statue on the top of this mountain.

The statue is 33.6m high, the pedestal area is 27mx27m, located in the middle of a 2.2ha campus on the top of the mountain, the weight of the base and statue shell is 1,700 tons, the statue alone weighs 600 tons. By the time of completion, the construction process went through five stages with a total cost of 33 billion VND, from the source mobilized from many benefactors.

According to Dr. Ngo Quang Lang - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang, the Maitreya Buddha statue on the top of Cam Mountain has high aesthetic architecture, is in harmony with the mountain and forest space, has cultural and spiritual value, and is one of the largest and tallest Buddha statues in the country.

Sculptor Thuy Lam said that building this giant 33.6m high Buddha statue was very difficult. In addition to the complex terrain, transporting construction materials and water for construction and daily activities to the top of the mountain was very difficult. It was mainly done by modified vehicles and human power.

“However, the most difficult part is carving the face, how to express the soul and heart of Maitreya Buddha with a peaceful smile, compassion, joy and forgiveness. We have to do it over and over again,” he said.

According to Tuoi Tre - TH