Note: cell phone pic of lower quality. The 87-foot tall statue of Migjid Janraisig at the Gandan Tegchenling Monastery. Truly impressive to stand beneath it. The monastery was built in 1809. The original statue, made in 1912, was of copper. This monastery was one of very few to escape destruction in the Stalin era (when 15,000 lamas were also killed), but it was closed and the original statue dismantled by Russian troops in the late 1930s.

This statue of Avalokiteśvara (a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas), the Mongolians call her Migjid Janraisig, was rebuilt in 1996, funded by donations by the Mongolian people. It features 2,286 precious stones and is gilded with gold leaf. Inside the hollow statue are 334 sutras, 27 tons of medicinal herbs and over 2 million bundles of mantras.