50kg solid-gold Buddha statue sparks internet sensation in Thailand
News that a golden Buddha figure and other sacred items will be placed inside a pagoda at Dhamma Chedi Museum in Udon Thani from January 27-30 went viral among Thai netizens on Monday.
The 50.5-kilogram Buddha figure is made of 99.99 per cent gold and worth approximately 100 million baht, according to press reports.
The museum is currently awaiting delivery of the statue from a factory in Bangkok, reports said. They clarified that the golden figure has nothing to do with the gold-donations project launched after the 1997 financial crisis.
Construction of Dhamma Chedi Museum is 80-90 per cent complete, according to the museum website. The Northeast province’s newest museum will commemorate one of Thailand's most famous monks, Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, who died on January 31, 2011 at the age of 98.
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