World-Famous Buddhas of Bamiyan Resurrect in Afghanistan

World-Famous Buddhas of Bamiyan Resurrect in Afghanistan

Fourteen years after the Taliban dynamited the world-famous Buddhas of
Bamiyan, the giant statues were resurrected with 3D light projection
technology in the empty cavities where they once stood in Afghanistan.

The project was undertaken by a Chinese couple who used 3D laser light
projection technology to fill the empty cavities in the cliff in the
Bamiyan Valley in Hazarajat with Buddha's virtual images, 230 km
northwest of Kabul.

The couple - Janson Yu and Liyan Hu - were saddened by the destruction
of the two statues which were carved during the 6th century and
decided to undertake the project.

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They took permission both from the Afghan government and UNESCO to
bring the statues back for one night only in the empty cavities in the
cliff.

The event on June 7 saw projectors displaying huge holographic statues
of the exact size of the precious cultural monuments that were lost,
accompanied by music.

"The projections were not widely publicised, but over 150 people came
to see the spectacle. Crowds remained well into the night and some
people played music while others looked on," a journalist, who
witnessed the show, was quoted as saying by The Atlanic.

Both Standing Buddhas - 115 ft and 174 ft tall - were carved out of
sandstone cliffs and stood at one point painted and gilded. They
managed to survive for more than 1500 years.

But the Taliban dynamited and destroyed them in March 2001 as part of
a campaign to remove all non-Islamic art from Afghanistan.

The statues were among the most famous cultural landmarks of the
region, and the site was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site
along with the surrounding cultural landscape and archaeological
remains of the Bamiyan Valley.

Japan and Switzerland, among others, have pledged support for the
rebuilding of the statues.

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