Afghanistan’s famed giant Buddhas rise again

Kabul, June 14 

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 that were carved during the 6th century and decided to undertake the project. 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, said. 

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