CUU LONG DELTA ? The statue of Maitreya Buddha in the Mekong province of An Giang has been recognised by the Asia Book of Record as the largest in Asia.

The statute is installed in the Chua Phat Lon (Large Buddha Statue Pagoda), located 710 metres above sea level on Cam Mountain in An Hao Commune, Tinh Bien District.

The pagoda was built on a 2.2ha area between February 2004 and December 2005. The statue is 33.6 metres high from the base to the top.

At a ceremony held this morning (May 29) to mark the recognition, Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury, General Director of Asia Book of Records, said the organisation will also recognise a statue of the Buddha attaining Nirvana, located in Binh Thuan Province's Linh Son-Truong Tho Pagoda, as the longest such monument in Asia.

Situated on the Ta Cu Mountain, this statue is 49 meters long and 11 meters high. It was built between 1963 and 1966. ? VNS