Wednesday, April 30, 2008Tian Tan / Lantau Island
Here he is—the big guy himself. The climb to get there is a killer; even the most fit were stopping to wheeze and gasp. It’s worth it, though; pictures don’t do justice to the sheer magnitude of this shrine.
Tian Tan winks at my next destination via a duplication of the Alter of Heaven from Beijing’s Temple of Heaven (the original Tian Tan) at the foot of the (killer) stairs. A couple of other things set this Buddha apart from the rest; firstly, he faces north, not south, which is odd for a Buddhist shrine. Secondly, he’s the largest outdoor seated Buddha in the world.
It wasn’t lost on me that the guy with the biggest love handles on earth sits at the top of a giant Stairmaster. Who knew?
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