Buddha statue in China goes up in flames
STORY: Video shared on social media showed the statue at the Shandan Great Buddha Temple of Gansu province’s Shandan County burning in the early hours of Monday. After the fire was extinguished, the buddha statue appeared to remain partially intact, but several temple structures were destroyed.
According to local media reports, the statue built in 1998 as a replica of an original, which dated back to around 425 AD, and was damaged during the Cultural Revolution.
A Tuesday (July 25) statement released by the local propaganda department confirmed that there were no casualties from the fire, and that the temple's cultural relics remained undamaged. The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the cultural relics. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the statement added.
