Pagoda of records

      Bai Dinh Pagoda in the northern province of Ninh Binh not only has the tallest and heaviest bronze statue of Buddha but many other records besides.
Covering an area of around 700 hectares, the pagoda in Gia Sinh commune, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province will be one of the biggest pagodas in all of Southeast Asia when finished. The work of Bai Dinh Pagoda was kicked off in 2004 and will be completed in 2015.
The pagoda has the biggest bronze statue of Buddha in Vietnam, weighing 100 tons; three bronze statues representing the past, present and future weighing 50 tons each; the largest bronze 36-ton bell and 500 white-stone Arhat statues.
The Arhat statues are placed in a 1.8km long corridor. Each statue, 2-2.5m high, 2-2.5 tonnes in weight, needed one month for completion.
There are more record-breaking architectural aspects. The pagoda’s magnificent three-door gate is the biggest of its kind in Vietnam, built with 550 tonnes of iron wood. Four 13.8m-high pillars tower over the entrance, flanked by two 5.5m-high solid bronze guard statues, weighing 12 tonnes each. Around the gate are eight smaller bronze statues of Kim Cuong angels, each weighing 8 tonnes.