Big jade statue of Buddha to be completed

A big jade statue of the Great Buddha Sakyamuni is expected to complete before the Vu Lan, a Buddhist festival which this year falls on August 24.
Nguyen Van My, chairman of the Hanoi Association of Ornamental Rock said, the statue, which has been carved since August, 2009 at the Phap Van pagoda in Hanoi, will weigh over 20 tonnes and will be 3.5 metres high.
After completion, the statue will be at the Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.
Vu Lan is held annually on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. The main objective of the festival is for the people to express their gratefulness and appreciation to their mothers.