Located in Indonesia, Borobudur is a site dating back to the 9th century and buried by volcanic ash for hundreds of years. Borobudur was built between 750 and 850 A.D. by the rulers of Charia dynasty who ruled Java at that time. Later, because of the volcanic eruption, the pagodas sank and were hidden in the dense tropical jungle for nearly a thousand years, and were not cleared until the beginning of the19th century. Together with the Great Wall in China, the Taj Mahal in India and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, it is called the Four Wonders of the Ancient East.

Borobudur is worth spending a few days visiting slowly. The scenery here is extremely beautiful, with incredible green rice fields and traditional villages where rice is grown, and the towering volcanic peaks can overlook everything here.

In Sanskrit, Borobudur means "stupa on the mountain". It is said that it was built from the second half of the 8th century to the beginning of the 9th century. In order to collect a small part of Sakyamuni's ashes, Indonesian King Xia Lian Tela used hundreds of thousands of farmers and slaves, which took more than ten years to build. /kloc-After Islam was introduced into Indonesia in the 0/5th century, Buddhism declined, and Borobudur was destroyed by volcanic ash and jungle until it was rediscovered in the 0/9th century. Borobudur is a solid stupa without doors, windows or beams. It is completely composed of andesite and basalt in nearby rivers, with about 2 million stones, each weighing about 65,438+0 tons. The base of the stupa is square, and the ground part of the tower foundation covers an area of 1.23 million square meters. From the bottom of the tower to the top, the original height was 42 meters. It is said that the top of the bell-shaped shrine at the top of the tower was destroyed by lightning, so the actual height is now close to 35 meters. The architectural form of the tower embodies the combination of Mahayana Buddhism and tantric teachings, and the whole building is like a huge mandala (altar). The stupa has a total of 10 floors, and there is a straight stone passage around it in the middle, from the base angle to the top floor. The first to sixth floors of the stupa are square, and the seventh to ninth floors are round like the feet of the top tower. The tenth floor is a bell tower with a diameter of 9.9 meters. According to Buddhism, the square platform below the tower represents the so-called "land boundary" and the circular platform above represents the so-called "heaven boundary". There are 432 stone cliff shrines on each floor of the boundary, and each shrine has a lotus bed and a Buddha sitting on its feet. There are 72 bell-shaped pagodas on each floor of "Paradise", each of which is dedicated to an adult-sized statue of sitting Buddha, with unique shape and ingenious design. According to the different directions of east, south, west, north and middle, the Buddha statues make various gestures such as pointing to the ground, giving alms, meditation, fearlessness, wheels, etc. The facial expressions, fingers, palms, arms and other parts of the Buddha statues are also varied and vivid, with exquisite craftsmanship.

There are 505 large and small Buddha statues in the whole building, which is one of the largest Buddhist buildings in the world at that time. There are cloisters on all floors of the tower, and the stone walls on both sides of the cloister are carved with various reliefs, many of which are reliefs of Buddhist stories, as well as sculptures of people's living customs, figures, flowers and plants, birds and animals, tropical fruits and so on. All the reliefs are exquisite and lifelike, which can be called artistic treasures, so they are also called "epics on stones".

Because Borobudur was built on the mountain, the foundation was not solid, and because of its age, the whole building and relief were destroyed. 1973 was completely repaired, and it took 10 years to complete. Now it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with beautiful forests and towering old trees. It has become a national tourist attraction covering an area of 85 hectares and has built many tourist facilities. Many domestic and foreign tourists come here for sightseeing every year. Borobudur is the largest historical relic in the southern hemisphere, and it is called "Four Great Monuments in the East" together with the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat and the Egyptian pyramids.

According to experts' research, the Borobudur Tower was built to worship the relics of Buddha ancestors of Sakyamuni. After the death of the Buddha, his body was cremated and his ashes were placed in cemeteries in eight cities. After King Ashoka ascended the throne, he ordered the graves of seven Buddha statues to be excavated, and the ashes were placed in 84,000 bottles and urns, which were then distributed to Buddhists and buried there. Borobudur Pagoda was built for this purpose. As for whether there are ashes of Buddha statues in it, there is no record.

Borobudur stupa has experienced many vicissitudes and disasters. First of all, after Islam was introduced into Java, the Islamic Kingdom replaced the Buddhist Kingdom, the kingdom of Xia Lian Terra declined, and the political and cultural center moved to East Java. The stupa was neglected, neglected and gradually declined. Second, the impact of natural disasters. The nearby Mount Merabi erupted several times, burying the stupa in the jungle of volcanic ash, magma and weeds. The rapid propagation of algae and fungi, as well as wind and rain, have seriously eroded the stupa. The third is man-made destruction. /kloc-at the end of 0/9, the local governor gave some art treasures in the stupa as gifts to the visiting kings of neighboring countries, and Dutch colonists stole a batch of treasures. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that this artistic treasure, which had been sleeping for more than 900 years, came to light after many repairs and excavations, but it was still unsatisfactory. From 1975 to 1982, a large-scale restoration project was carried out again. At that time, the Indonesian government called on the United Nations to help save this historic building, so it was co-sponsored by UNESCO and the Indonesian government. At a cost of $654.38 million+05.5 million, more than 654.38 million +02 million stones were peeled off one by one, rotten plants were removed, advanced herbicides were sprayed, and then reinstalled. The vastness of the project can be imagined. After this renovation, the Borobudur Tower finally regained its glory. Since then, it has attracted more than 500,000 tourists every year.

There are many beautiful legends about pagodas. One said that if you can reach into the hole and touch the palm of the Buddha, you will be lucky and prosperous; It is said that those stone monsters and Buddha statues can ward off evil spirits, which attracts many tourists to worship and pray for peace and happiness.