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Leshan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Leshan Buddha, the gigantic monolith which has withstood over twelve centuries of natural erosion, is falling to pieces after relatively few years of super-pollution.

 

The 71-meter-tall statue was carved out of solid rock between 713 and 803 and was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996.  The Buddha endured internal conflict between China’s imperial dynasties and as the Chinese proverb says; “never changed expression”. 

 

Since 1998, when the government granted a high number of industrial licences in the area, it has been exposed to the rains of the new Chinese economic miracle, acid rains polluted by the rivers of neighbouring industries. Now its’ face is streaked and its nose has turned blackish, while various parts of its form have crumbled to the ground.

 

Sichuan province which is home to the Buddha, has become one of the most exploited regions in the whole of China for its wealth of mineral resources: according to some Chinese Chemists, the chemical composts contained in emissions from the mining industry have attacked the monoliths molecular structure.

 

Currently, a group of researchers from the Chengdu University of Technology and a professor of Yamagata University in Japan are trying to preserve it from further damage, while the local authorities have promised their “maximum collaboration” in preserving the statue from “the ravages of time”.