Outside of Na Nang, in Vietnam, visible across the bay, is the giant and magnificent statue of the Lady Buddha, tượng phật bà quan âm in Vietnamese. You can see the statue in a picture my wife took from the rooftop bar in our hotel on the right side of the image. You can click on the photo to zoom in.

The statue is 67 meters (220 feet) tall, which is about the height of a 22-story building, or something along the height of the neighboring hotels on the left of the photo. It is the tallest Buddha statue in Vietnam. For comparison, Christ the Redeemer, the famous statue in Rio, is 38 meters tall, including the pedestal, which is 8 meters by itself.  At 67 meters, the Lady Buddha is almost twice that tall.

It towers on top of a hill on the Sơn Trà Peninsula in the Monkey Mountains of Da Nang. As we were walking up to it, suddenly it came into view from behind some trees and it’s truly awe inspiring.

Then, finally, after a short walk, we were in front of it.

There is a little shrine underneath inside of it, and there are 17 floors inside of it. Access is restricted or only open during certain ceremonies or with permission. Each floor is dedicated to a different Buddha or Bodhisattva, with small altars and statues. These floors are like small shrines or prayer rooms stacked vertically within the statue. Of course, there are no windows, so it’s probably pretty claustrophobic in there. I didn’t get to go up.

I read one travel blogger claim that the statue is carved from a single block of marble. That is wrong. It would not be possible to carve something this big on site, or transport, let alone make it hollow. It is primarily constructed from reinforced concrete, combining traditional Vietnamese Buddhist architecture with modern design elements.  However, skilled artisans from the nearby Non Nuoc Marble Village were involved in its creation, contributing their craftsmanship to the intricate details of the statue.

We went to Non Nuoc. It is amazing by itself. There are many nearby quarries with excellent marble, and the artisans are very prolific. There are scores of shops, entire warehouses, full of art. Here is a snapshot from one such shop. The yellow building is their showroom.

At the Lady Buddha, here is one more shot with me in it.

The area is called the monkey mountains, and indeed, the trees surrounding the park are inhabited by monkeys.

Finally, before leaving, I looked out over the bay, and here is a parting shot back to the city of Da Nang, with its characteristic high rise hotels, one of which was ours, lining the beach. From there is where we took the first picture in  this post, pointed here.