RESTORING BUDDHA STATUES USING 3D TECHNOLOGY

In 2001, art and sculpture enthusiasts around the world were heartbroken when the media reported that Taliban militants had completely destroyed the 6th-century Bamiyan Buddha statue in the Bamiyan Valley, Central Afghanistan. But recently, this world cultural heritage has been restored using magical 3D laser light projection technology.

According to Sina, this is part of a project by the Chinese billionaire couple Zhang Xinyu and his wife Liang Hong. They had heard that a Japanese scientist wanted to use laser imaging to reconstruct the statue but it was not completed and the United Nations did not approve it. Therefore, Xiang Xinyu and his wife thought of using 3D hologram projection technology to recreate the original image of the Buddha statue for the world to admire again.

The couple Zhang and Liang spent 120,000 USD on the project to restore the above-mentioned wonder Buddha statue. The preparation work began in early 2015 with the advice of expert Nacy Dupree from Kabul University. In addition, they consulted additional documents about the Bamiyan statue at the National Museum of Afghanistan to overcome countless challenges and obstacles in restoring the image of the Buddha statue.

Zhang and his wife brought a projector to the site of the 1,500-year-old statue, projecting 3D technology into the hollow mountain pit where the statue had previously been located.

As a result, more than 1,000 people present witnessed the “return” of the Bamiyan Buddha statue. Everyone was amazed and astonished.

China’s CCTV quoted a local resident as saying: “Nothing can replace the memory of the Buddha statue, but this project reminds us that the wonder has not disappeared.”

According to CCTV, Zhang and Liang donated 3D hologram technology to Afghanistan’s cultural relics preservation agency, allowing the image of the thousand-year-old Buddha statue to be recreated every March – the time when the statue was destroyed by the Taliban.

The two Bamiyan Buddhas, one measuring 35 metres and the other 53 metres, were reportedly bombed by the Taliban in March 2001, in protest at international aid for their maintenance while Afghanistan was in poverty. The destruction of the statues sparked international outrage and over the years many organisations have pledged to work together to restore the world heritage site.