Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Laos Vientiane Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park)

Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park)

More than 200 statues filled with cryptic symbols give this park spot an aura of horror vacui fantasy.

Vientiane, Laos

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Buddha Park   Iwan Gabovitch/CC BY 2.0
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buddha_P...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90282896@N00/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90282896@N00/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31296...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90282896@N00/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90282896@N00/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/luluk/2869089...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90282896@N00/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat   http://www.flickr.com/photos/58bits/358182...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
Buddha Park   Mark Fischer on Flickr
Entry ceiling  
Inside the large sculpture near the front (3 levels representing hell, earth & heaven)  
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenchik/31297...
View of the park from the top  
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The park has something distinctly ancient looking about it. Giant Buddhas lounge as Vishnu looks on, and Shiva menaces both with eight arms full of weaponry.

In fact, the Xieng Khuan, or "Spirit City" park was built in 1958 by Luang Pu (translated as Venerable Grandfather) Bunleua Sulilat. Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat was a priest-shaman, myth-maker, mystic and sculpture artist with a large following in Laos and later in Thailand. Born into a family of eight children in Thailand Sulilat was supposedly mentored by a hermit named Keoku whom he met after falling in cave. Sulilat's particular brand of mysticism integrated Hinduism and Buddhism and united the Thai and Laotian peoples. Later Sulilat was forced to flee from Laos to Thailand after the revolution in 1975. There, he built another sculpture park, Sala Keoku in Nong Khai.

Xieng Khuan park was Sulilat's first sculpture park and was built by the side of the Mekong River, about 25 kilometers from Vientiane. Said to have been built by himself and his students -- all non-trained artists -- the park is an astounding display of outsider artistry. The iconography is reflective of the imaginative the philosophy of this man, and closely resembles a south-east Asian interpretation of the mannerist gardens of 1600s Europe such as the Monsters of Bomazaro park, in Italy.

The more than 200 statues, filled with cryptic symbols, concentrated in a small area give the Xieng Khuan park spot an aura of horror vacui fantasy. Among these ferro-concrete sculptures are skeleton thin Buddhas, a giant pumpkin with with a demon head for an opening and three floors representing Heaven, Hell and Earth as well as a gigantic 40 meter long reclining Buddha.

Sadly, the place is about to fall into ruins because of floods from the Mekong River and a general lack of conservation. If it is now already a place of surreal lore that looks of ancient ruins, it will surely transform into something even stranger when it actually becomes ruins.

Related Tags

Statues

Know Before You Go

To get there, you can take a bus (Bus #14 from Vientiane’s main bus station) which run about every 40 minutes. Be careful with hiring a tuk-tuk though; more than likely you will be charged an exorbitant amount to get there and back.There are sometimes food carts about that serve food and beer, as well as a nearby riverside restaurant.The entrance fee is 15000 kip for foreigners.

Community Contributors

Edited By

kostas1964ath, renangreinert, mbison, EricGrundhauser...

  • kostas1964ath
  • renangreinert
  • mbison
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Meg
  • swampqueen

Published

November 12, 2009

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://jeffreyalanmiller.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/xieng-khuan-buddha-park-vientianes-quirky-yet-unique-buddhist-pantheon/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Park
  • http://www.asiaexplorers.com/laos/xiengkhuan.htm
  • http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/mizmelodia/1/1206264300/11-xieng-khuan-park.jpg/tpod.html
Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park)
Vientiane
Laos
17.912286, 102.765365

Nearby Places

Sala Keoku

Tambon Wat That, Thailand

miles away

COPE Visitor Centre

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

Wat Si Muang

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Vientiane

Vientiane

Laos

Places 7

Nearby Places

Sala Keoku

Tambon Wat That, Thailand

miles away

COPE Visitor Centre

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

Wat Si Muang

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Vientiane

Vientiane

Laos

Places 7

Related Stories and Lists

Into the Jaws of Doors: The Open-Wide World of 11 Mouth-Shaped Portals

architecture

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • Statues of Qin Hui and Lady Wang.

    Hangzhou, China

    Qin Hui Statue at Yue Fei Temple

    Visitors take revenge upon the statue of a traitor made to kneel at the tomb of his enemy.

  • York, England

    Tobacconist Napoleon Statue

    A rare tobacconist Napoleon statue stands inside York’s medieval guildhall.

  • This gigantic statue once marked a radio station’s headquarters.

    Topeka, Kansas

    Huntoon Park Wren

    This bird statue was created to mark the site of a radio transmitter.

  • Vilnius, Lithuania

    Jesus Backpacker

    A unique, playful portrayal of Jesus as a backpacking traveler.

  • Honningsvåg Bamse Statue

    Nordkapp, Norway

    Honningsvåg Bamse Statue

    This beloved wartime mascot has been honored with not just one, but two statues.

  • Chiayi City, Taiwan

    Manneken Pis of Taiwan

    A replica of Brussels’ Manneken Pis has stood in Taiwan since 1934.

  • Punk monument of Visací zámek.

    Prague, Czechia

    Punk Monument

    This pink tractor statue pays tribute to a legendary underground punk band.

  • Taipei, Taiwan

    Chiang Statues in Beitou

    An otherwise typical Beitou alley is home to statues of Chiang Kai-shek and his son.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.