A photo of what seems to be a grinning Bodhisattva statue from Shanxi's Yungang Grottoes has gone viral after it was unveiled during a photo exhibition.

The Bodhisattva statue from the eight caves of the world cultural heritage site dates back to more than 1,500 years. The statue stands around two meters high and was sculpted with its palms together with a satisfied grin as well dimples on the face.

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"A grinning Bodhisattva statue is very rarely seen in the world Buddhist statue art," Zhang Hua, a researcher from the Yungang Grottoes research institute, told Shanxi Evening News. 

The statue was revealed to the public through a photo that was taken by photographer Zhang Haiyan, who spent more than seven days finding the right angle for the photo. He has admitted to using an artificial light source for the photograph that was exhibited.

The one of a kind Bodhisattva statue caught Haiyans attention in the early 1990's, but he did notice that the statue also had dimples. "It was dark the first time I saw her, so I did not notice that she had dimples," said Haiyan

In an interview with a local Chinese paper, Haiyan said "The grinning statue seems very lighthearted, lively and adorable. It has also broken China's old feudal concept that girls should not reveal their teeth when smiling and their feet when they are walking."

The photograph is still on exhibition at the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute.  

TagsBodhisattva Statue, Shanxi Yungang Grottoes, grinning Bodhisattva statue Yungang Grottoes