The 'Dordenma Buddha Statue' lies on a ridge on the southern slope above Thimphu. The gilded bronze statue is 51 meters high and faces east. Coinciding with the 60th birthday of His Majesty King Jigme Singye and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the monarchy, the statue was inaugurated in 2015 after nine years of construction. A consortium of business people from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China financed the construction costs of more than 100 million US dollars. orientalarchitecture.com/sid/1633/bhutan/thimphu/dordenma-buddha-statue atlasobscura.com/places/buddha-dordenma
The Buddha Dordenma statue, a technical masterpiece, was crafted in sections and assembled on-site in Thimphu. Made of bronze and gilded with gold, the statue was erected with the help of skilled artisans.
The entire project was outsourced to China, where the individual parts of the statue were manufactured and then shipped to Bhutan for assembly. Standing at an enormous 54 meters tall, the statue is one of the largest seated Buddha statues in the world.
It houses 125,000 smaller Buddha statues, each meticulously crafted from bronze and gilded with gold. The statue's base contains a meditation hall, further enhancing its spiritual significance.