The pagoda in Quang Ngai has the tallest statue of Buddha Quan Am in the country.

Minh Duc Pagoda located in Thien Ma Cultural Area, although not yet completed, is still one of the most visited tourist attractions in Quang Ngai .

Minh Duc Pagoda is located in Thien Ma Cultural Area, built on a total area of nearly 90 hectares in Ngang Mountain, Tinh Long Commune and Tinh Khe Commune, Quang Ngai City. The pagoda started construction in 2018 with Venerable Thich Tam Vi as the investor. The main hall was built with an area of about 10,800m², 37m high.

Panorama of Minh Duc Pagoda. Photo: Vien Nguyen

The Thien Ma Spiritual Cultural Area and Minh Duc Pagoda project was approved by the province at the end of 2017 with a budget of over 1,000 billion VND. Currently, the Long Hoa Vien area and the Maitreya statue have been completed.

Minh Duc Pagoda seen from My Tra - My Khe street, Quang Ngai city. Photo: Vien Nguyen

This is a Buddhist spiritual cultural area including areas with Buddha statues, squares, Minh Duc Pagoda, Buddhist museum area, stupa area, Long Hoa Vien, Bach Ma garden, Thap Phap Gioi, Thien Duong area, Phuong Y Duong and Noi Vien.

The Guanyin statue has 25 floors. When completed, visitors will be able to enter and take an elevator to the top. Photo: Vien Nguyen

In particular, Minh Duc Pagoda has a 125m high statue of Buddha Quan Am. The construction of the statue's rough structure has been completed. This is the tallest statue of Buddha Quan Am in Vietnam, surpassing the statues at Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh) which is 72m high and at Linh An Pagoda (Da Lat City) which is 71m high. This statue also becomes the tallest statue of Buddha Quan Am in Southeast Asia and is among the tallest statues of Buddha Quan Am in the world .

The main hall is the central area of Minh Duc Pagoda with many completed items. This area is 10,800 m2 wide, 37 m high, with a total estimated investment of more than 300 billion VND. Photo: Vien Nguyen — The main hall is the central area of Minh Duc Pagoda with many completed items. This area is 10,800 square meters wide, 37 meters high, with a total estimated investment of more than 300 billion VND. Photo: Vien Nguyen

With a convenient location, located on the tourist route connecting all the most beautiful destinations in Quang Ngai province such as My Khe beach, Ba Lang, Ly Son island... Quang Ngai hopes that this cultural area will contribute to promoting the province's tourism to develop more strongly in the coming time.

The Buddhist spiritual cultural area includes the following items: Buddha statue, Square, Minh Duc pagoda, Buddhist museum... Photo: Vien Nguyen — Thien Ma spiritual cultural area has dozens of Buddha statues on display. Photo: Vien Nguyen

Although not yet completed, according to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province, from December 29 to the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year 2024, tourist areas and spots in the province welcomed about 50,000 visitors, of which Minh Duc Pagoda led the number of visitors, with more than 8,000 visitors.

Up to now, the pagoda is more than 75% completed, but has attracted a large number of visitors, most concentrated during the Lunar New Year. Photo: Vien Nguyen

Thien Ma spiritual cultural area is expected by the Quang Ngai provincial government to become an attractive tourist destination, attracting visitors to this land.