Rastriya Samachar Samiti

Boao (China), April 25:

King Gyanendra at a function today unveiled the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha which has been placed in the premises of Boao Chan monastery in Boao of Hainan province in China.

The King had recently presented the statue to the Chinese people as a souvenir gift of the Nepalese people. The statue of Buddha in meditative posture in typical Nepalese style is gold coated and is about 1.5 meter high and weighs about 40 tons. Queen Komal was also present at the ceremony today. On the occasion, Princess Prearana was also present. They were warmly welcomed at the monastery by saint monk of the monastery, Seng Huei, the chairman of China Buddhists’ Organization, Jiang Xiao Song, officials of National Religious Organization, governor of Hainan city and officers of the Hainan foreign office. Thousands of Buddhists thronged the monastery to extend greetings. On the occasion, the vice chairman of council of minister, Kritinidhi Bista and foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey were also present. The King and Queen graced a luncheon hosted by head bhikchhu of the Boao Chan monastery Sheng Hui here today.