Top Ten World’s Tallest Statues
Thursday, 24th July 2014 by Ian Brown
The roster of the world's tallest statues is dominated by Buddhist figures, with most of the top ten (actually 11 because of a tie) being representations of the Buddha or Guanyin. While we've looked at Very Large Buddhas twice before 1, updated imagery means it's time for an expanded look at the world of colossal statuary of all kinds. Unfortunately, if anything the current satellite view of the largest - the Spring Temple Buddha in China - is less clear than it was when we first looked at it, though it does have an impressive shadow.
This statue was named for a nearby natural spring where the hot water supposedly has healing properties. The main figure is 108m (354') tall, though once the lotus throne and pedestal building are included, the total height is 153m (502').
The second tallest statue was under construction when we last visited it, but this Photosphere by Win Thu Aung shows the Laykyun Setkar in all its gold-plated magnificence. This statue in Myanmar stands 116m (381') with a 13m (44') pedestal.
Just a few metres shorter is the Ushiku Daibatsu statue in Japan, which is covered by a series of connected Photospheres by Masato OTA.
The 4th, 6th and 7th largest statues in the world are figure of Guanyin, a bodhisattva usually depicted as a female and revered for compassion or mercy. In China, the 106m (348') Guanyin of the South Sea of Sanya is just about visible on satellite view. One face of the 3-sided statue looks inland, while the other two gaze out over the South China Sea.
The fifth tallest statue is also in China and is one of the two from our list not related to Buddhism. The 106m (348') dual figures of Emperors Yan and Huang can just about be seen, possibly still under construction, on satellite view.
Guanyin is known as Kannon in Japan, where the Sendai Daikannon is exactly 100m (330') tall, and has a lift to carry visitors to the top for a view of the surrounding area. We get an excellent view in both 45° imagery ...
... and on Street View.
Back in China, the gilded bronze Qianshou Qianyan Guanyin of Weishan (Guishan Guanyin of the Thousand Hands and Eyes) is just 1m (3') shorter, but sadly isn't visible on satellite view.
In Russia, the other non-Buddhist statue on our list is the grand monument to Peter the Great in Russia, which stands 96m tall (315').
Moving to Thailand, the Great Buddha of Thailand took 18 years to complete and is 92m (300') tall - the 9th tallest statue in the world.
Finally, there is a tie for the 10th tallest statue in the world, both of which are 88m (289') tall. The Dai Kannon of Kita no Miyako park in Japan ...
... and the Grand Buddha at Ling Shan in China. Photosphere by Patrick Jégu.
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See Very Large Buddhas from 2006, and Very Large Buddhas (Redux) from 2009. ↩︎
About the author
Ian Brown lives in Ottawa, Canada, and spends his spare time perusing maps to find new routes to ride on his orange bicycle.
Is the Statue of Liberty not counted at 93m? Or is this measured head to toe and our French gift is discounted for the base and the upstretched arm?
Daniel – you are correct – the base isn’t included in the total height of the statue for these rankings, though the upraised arm would be. Heights in the post are for the actual statue, though in some cases a plinth or pedestal is mentioned separately. I used Wikipedia’s list to compile this post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statues_by_height
And of course the day after this was posted I read that there is a possibility that there will soon be a new, even taller, statue to top the list. India is planning to build a 182m (597′) Statue of Unity – “a tribute to Sardar (Chief) Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the founding fathers of modern India”. Although as is pointed out in the various media reports, the official estimated cost of $34million may only be a tenth of the actual budget needed, and even that low figure was far more than was allocated for women’s safety or education for girls. Read more at the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/07/10/indias-new-budget-includes-33-million-to-build-the-worlds-tallest-statue-not-everyone-is-happy/
Don’t like the Peter the Great statue on this list. The actual figure of Peter the Great isn’t very large, certainly not compared to the Buddhist figures. IMHO, I think the freestanding figure of the Statue of Liberty fits better with the “theme” of this list.
If one believes Wikipedia, this guy in Japan is 100m tall.
http://goo.gl/maps/Ah472
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B3%E5%92%8C%E8%A6%B3%E9%9F%B3%E5%AF%BA
Not sure whether the 100m figure includes the 20m base or not.
Hi Jeffery!
That’s Awaji Kannon, a statue of Guanyin which, as you suspected, is 100m only when including the 20m pedestal.
Pretty impressive shot on Street View though:
http://goo.gl/maps/NnsMN