Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛), Ngong Ping, Lantau Island

There's a huge Buddha on Lantau which you can see for miles. Lantau's where the new airport is, and if you take off in the right direction, you get to touch his face.

A new cable car opened to take you up to see it .... fantastic cable car with great views over the airport. We took Mum to see it when they were over for New Year ... luckily we were with an official tour company -- they whisked us through the queues ... it was a Bank Holiday ... everybody else had to wait 3-4 hours!

Here's Wiki on the quite stunning statue:

The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits peacefully on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representing gods or immortals.

The Buddha is 34 meters high, weighs 250 tons, and is the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha.

The Tian Tan Buddha appears serene and dignified. His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction. His left hand lies near his groin, signifying human happiness. The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues. (All others face South.)

In addition there are 3 floors at the bottom of Buddha: The Hall of Universe, The Hall of Benevolent Merit and The Hall of Remembrance. One of the most renowned features inside is a relic of Sakyamuni, consisting of some of his alleged cremated remains. There is a huge carved bell inscribed with images of Buddhas in the show room. It was designed to ring every seven minutes, 108 times a day, symbolizing the release of 108 kinds of human vexations.

The Tian Tan Buddha was constructed beginning in 1990, and was finished on December 29, 1993, the birthday of Sakyamuni. The construction costs of the giant Buddha were estimated to be up to $68 million. It was formed out of 202 separate pieces of bronze lifted to the top of the hill by helicopter.

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