Heads of some 500-year-old Buddha statues carved on a cliff of Pang Po Cave in Jiajiang County, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, are found missing. (Photo/West China Metropolis Daily)
(ECNS) -- Local police launched an investigation after the heads of ten 500-year-old Buddha statues carved on a cliff of Pang Po Cave in Jiajiang County, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, were found missing, West China Metropolis Daily reported.
Preliminary probes indicate the heads were stolen between the evening of August 19 and morning of August 20, according to a staff member of Jiajiang County's administration for cultural relics protection.
The stolen Buddha heads were carved about 500 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), according to the report.
Pang Po Cave is located halfway up a mountain, with steep cliffs surrounding it. There were 53 Buddha statues, carved in two rows (26 in the upper row and 27 in the lower), along a cliff about seven to eight meters high between two horizontal platforms. Five heads from each row went missing, with newly chiseled cracks left on the necks of each.
Zhou Mingcheng, 40, a local villager living near the cave, said his 69-year-old father went fishing on the morning of August 20, and found the heads of the statues missing on his way home for lunch. Suspecting they could have been stolen, Zhou immediately reported the case to local police.
Song Yang, head of Jiajiang County's administration for cultural relics protection, learned about the theft later that day.
He said the statues were in their original state on August 12 when a friend of a staff member went to check on them. The administration checked or patrolled local relics sites at least two times a year, he added.
"The perpetrator was very experienced and able to get one head off with just two chisel strokes," said Song.
He added the administration would actively cooperate with police to bring those who were responsible to justice, and encourage villagers to help protect local cultural relics.
