Fascinating statue garden at foot of Marble Mountains

      Working as a sculptor for over 30 years, a fourth-generation member of a family of sculptors, owning a second-to-none collection of statues of national heroes and famous people -- is Da Nang sculptor Nguyen Long Buu.
At the age of 10, Buu began learning sculpture from his father, Mr. Nguyen Sang. Buu’s father learnt the art from his father, Nguyen Binh, a royal artisan who was invited to restore Cambodia’s Angkowat temple. Binh’s father is Mr. Nguyen Chat, a reputed artisan who built the royal citadel and tomb in the ancient capital city of Hue.
Buu looks like a true farmer. He said he is luckier than the previous generations because he was trained at the University of Industrial Art. In his life, Buu has created many outstanding works.
In 2003, Buu was the sole Vietnamese representative at the international wax sculpture competition in Thailand, which gathered many famous sculptors from 15 countries in the world. The Vietnamese artist won the silver medal for “Happiness” statue, which is now at the Thailand National Museum.
At the 14th APEC Summit in Hanoi in 2006, Buu was the only artist permitted by the Vietnamese Prime Minister to hold an exhibition, displaying 30 of his famous works.
The statue garden at the foot of Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountains) in the central city of Da Nang hosts Buu’s most outstanding sculptural works.
The statue garden features thousands of statues made of stone and cement, which are arranged by topic.
The most special works are the portraits of Vietnamese heroes and famous people, which are very lively, such as the portraits of Tran Hung Dao, doctor martyr Dang Thuy Tram, former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong and Arhats.
Walking in Buu’s statue garden, visitors will deeply feel a Vietnamese cultural atmosphere through the statues of a buffalo boy or a woman in non la and ancient ao dai.
Among thousands of statues in this garden, 12 portraits, 34 modern works and 15 classic works are the most valuable assets of Nguyen Long Buu.

     Sculptor Nguyen Long Buu was born in 1957 in Da Nang City. In over 30 years working with stone, Buu has compiled a collection of prizes from home and abroad. Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet recently presented him the third-grade Labour Order for his achievements.