This winter China will begin the second stage of the large scale renovation of the 1,280-year-old statue of Buddha in Leshan, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The renovation will cost 180 million yuan. The World Bank has lent 2 million U.S. dollars (about 12.6 million yuan). The remainder will be raised by the local government.

An official in charge of the project says 120 million yuan willbe used on construction of a highway which commenced in September.Renovation of the platform where the statue sits, a cliff-top plank road and other related projects will cost 38 million yuan .

The Buddha, sitting on a cliff is 71 meters high and 28 meters wide, and is 18 meters taller than the statue of Buddha in Bamian Valley, Afghanistan, once thought to be the tallest of its kind in the world.

Carving of the Buddha began in A.D. 713 and was completed in 803 during the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty. Due to wearing from wind, water and acid rain, the statue has dozens of holes in its foundation. During the first stage of repair last March, China gave a facelift to the statue, which has been included in UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage list. The current renovation will be completed by September 2002.

( People's Daily December 11, 2001)