Liaoning Province - Anshan 鞍山市

Anshan is situated in the middle of Liaoning Province and Shenda (Shenyang-Dalian) Railway runs through it. Iron ore is very rich in its vicinity. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25) indigenous iron smelting appeared. The city is one of the largest iron and steel industry bases in China, and dubbed as “the capital of steel.” The noted Anshan Iron and Steel Company is located here. Major tourist attraction include Mount Qian and Tanggangzi Hot Springs.

The Jade Buddha Garden 玉佛园

Located in the suburb of Anshan, the Jade Buddha Garden covers 220,000 square meters, the city shelters a Guinness-Record-Winning Buddha carved from jade. The world’s biggest jade Buddha (Jade King), 7.95 meters high, 6.88 meters wide, 4.1 meters thick, was carved in 1995 from a stone weighing 261 tons. The splendid sculpture, merging seven colours together—three shades of green, yellow, white, black and blue—(the Buddha is bright and dazzling) is an eye—catching artistic wonder produced by 120 jade sculptors in 27 months. It has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest jade Buddha. The stone came from Anshan’s Xiuyan County (the hometown of jade), which has proven jade deposits of 3 million tons. The huge jade weighing 60,000 tons were also discovered there. Jade artifacts are the best souvenirs for tourists. Due to its unique geological structure, Anshan is rich in geothermal resources. A natural Buddha formed by a whole hill made Mount Qianshan a holy land for Buddhists in Northeast China. In June every year, a grand festival is held there to worship Buddha. The “king of jade” was first discovered in the area in 1960 and was not only noted for its size but also fit its beautiful colour and moderate hardness. But due to lack of good transport facilities, it was not until 1992 that the huge jade was moved from the mountain so that it could be properly used and made into something. The huge piece of jade experienced a difficult eight-day journey, passing over four mountains and several rivers. Six big tractors, four tanks, 150 other vehicles and 400 workers were involved in the transportation process. More than 600,000 people watched. Local residents in the county worshipped the “king of jade,” who they believed had blessed their lives and protected them from different disaster since 1960. On the night before the jade was moved to Beijing, farmers from nearby villages sacrificed sheep and cockerels and acted out various Manchu customs to say farewell. It took 120 senior craftsmen from the Beijing Jade Workshop 18 months to carve the stone into the Buddha. It was a really difficult task as the jade is made of different colours. Although designers had drawn a sketch, no one could imagine what it would look like in reality because modern science and technology was not able to detect the colour distribution below the surface of the jade. Even a little deviation in colour might turn the face and head of the Buddha into a mess. Sakyamuni’s face was carved on the dark green section of the jade. A piece of yellow jade lies at the top of the head like a golden crown. The carving of Guanyin (Avalokitesvara or Goddess of Merey) on the back of the Buddha boasts an astonishing effect. The light green colour, which reflects the light, gives her the charm of a goddess or a fairy. Unlike the main Buddha, the background carvings were done according to the natural shape of the stone without any prior sketching.

Giant Jade

A gigantic jade boulder, weighing more than 60,000 tons, was discovered n Xiuyan County釉岩县 of Northeast China’s Liaoning Province. It has been deemed as the world’s largest. The county plans to carve Buddha figures from the massive semi-precious stone and build a park centered on it, hoping to attract more tourists. Xiuyan, a county named after the unique jade it produces, is located in an area where the Liaodong Peninsula in texture. It provides 80 per cent of the raw materials for jade crafts made in China.

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