Unveiling: This Saint Giong statue was unveiled at the Ha Noi Opera House on Tuesday. — Photo dantri.com.vn

HA NOI (VNS)  — Sixty statues of the legendary Saint Giong are being made to display at the 60th anniversary of Ha Noi Liberation Day on October 10.

The statues are being cast in copper and plated with gold. Each weighs 60kg and are 80cm in height.

They are being produced by craftsman Nguyen Kim Xuan based on a figure of Saint Giong in Soc Temple in Soc Son District, Ha Noi.

"Saint Giong is an ancient symbol of Vietnamese people. He not only belongs to Ha Noi, but also to the nation," said Duong Trung Quoc, General Secretary of Viet Nam Historical Science Association.

"Through the project, we want to contribute to traditional cultural values. It is significant that recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism curbed the use of foreign cultural symbols."

The project is being organised by the association, the Viet Nam Buddhist Shangha, An Ninh Thu Do (Ha Noi Capital Security) newspaper and A Chau Friendship Company.

A ceremony praying for national prosperity will be held in Soc Temple on September 27, before a procession of the 60 Saint Giong statues from the temple to Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake. After that, the statues will be displayed at Ha Noi Opera House from October 3 to 5.

One of the statues will be presented to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, which will conduct an auction to support Vietnamese fishermen. Another will be presented to the Ha Noi People's Committee.

Legend has it that Giong was born after his mother stepped into the footprints of a giant.

At the age of three, when Giong suddenly grew into a giant himself, invaders were attacking the country.

While wielding an enormous iron rod and using an entire grove of bamboo, Giong chased the invaders out of the country on the back of an iron horse presented to him by the king.

Following the enemies' flight, Giong and his horse took off into the sky from Soc Mountain, never to be seen again. — VNS