Golden statues of Saint Giong makes debut

Two golden statues of Saint Giong, part of a project on casting 60 statues to mark the 60th anniversary of the Capital’s Liberation Day (October 10, 1954-2014) were inaugurated at a ceremony held at Hanoi Opera House in Hanoi on August 19.  

Saint Giong statues are carved masterpieces of the 21st century, symbolising the national strength, cultural, historical and spiritual values and love for peace. The handmade gold-plated statues are made of pure copper in a skilful, traditional method with a height of 80cm and 60kg in weight. They are carved upon the prototype Saint Giong in Soc Temple of Soc Son District in Hanoi, by architect Nguyen Kim Xuan.

Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of History, Duong Trung Quoc said that Vietnamese people’s soul is always engraved with Saint Giong, which encourages them to make further contributions to national construction and defence.

The project was initiated by the Vietnamese Association of Historical Science, the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam, 'An Ninh Thu Do' Newspaper and the Asia Friendship Company.

After 60 statues are completed, a ritual blessing for peace and happiness is set to be held at Soc Temple on September 27. They are up for auction at another ceremony at Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature), which will be broadcast live on VTV1 TV channel. During the ceremony, one statue will be presented to the Vietnam Fatherland Front for auction to support fishermen facing difficulties to protect the nation’s sacred sovereignty.

One newly launched statue will be displayed to the public in front of the Hanoi Opera House until August 20.