Dao Trong Cuong, the owner of a Vietnamese gem mine, purchased the 35-ton stone in Myanmar last year for US$2 million and imported it to Vietnam in October. -- PHOTO: APHAI DUONG (Vietnam) -ONE of the flamboyant entrepreneurs making it big in booming Vietnam unveiled a massive precious stone on Monday that he plans to transform into the world's largest jade Buddha.
Dao Trong Cuong, the owner of a Vietnamese gem mine, purchased the 35-ton stone in Myanmar last year for US$2 million and imported it to Vietnam in October. By the time a team of 50 artists and sculptors finishes chipping away at it, the finished Buddha is expected to weigh nearly 20 tons.
'We hope to get it into the Guinness Book of World Records,' Mr Cuong told a crowd of nearly 2,000 people during a ceremony unveiling the stone, which is 10 feet (3 metres) tall, 6.5 feet (2 metres) wide, and 6.5 feet (2 metres) deep.
Mr Cuong counts some of Vietnam's most powerful political figures among his friends, including President Nguyen Minh Triet, who spoke at Monday's ceremony after about 250 monks in saffron robes chanted and rang bells. 'This unique artistic work will be passed on to many generations,' said Mr Triet.
Mr Triet pulled back a curtain covering the massive hunk of jade, which has been temporarily adorned with a painting of a tranquil Buddha sitting in the lotus position. Mr Cuong said it will take two years to complete the statue.
A search of the Guinness Book Web site showed no entries for the world's largest jade Buddha. But according to Vietnamese media reports, the world's biggest existing jade Buddha weighs 4 tons and stands 9 feet (2.7 metres) tall. It was taken on a tour of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and Australia last year. -- AP
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