Stitching together photographs to create a panorama is a powerful effect which can give an image a strong aesthetic appeal. Landscapes are in particular a good subject for a panoramic photograph, and this image by Felix Oking of Borobudur is an excellent example of the effect.
Borobudur, Indonesia is a huge Mahayan Buddhist temple complex, decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues across six square platforms, topped by three circular platforms and constructed over an estimated 75 year period. Architecturally speaking, that's a biggie! Felix Oking's photograph is taken amongst the stupas overlooking the mountain on this ancient site, which for many centuries remained a deserted relic.
Submitted by Michael Kan on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 19:04
Come to Xi’an, and you’ll no doubt head straight to see the city’s famous Terracotta Warriors exhibit, or the mausoleum of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. You might make the trip out to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda or Maoling Mausoleum, and check out a couple of the museums, such as the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an Banpo Museum and the Xi’an Museum.
But there’s a lot more to Xi’an than these, admittedly stunning, sites. The ancient capital also has a stash of hidden treasures. Here’s a handful of my favourites.
Da Xing Shan Temple is located in Xi'an, China and has been considered a birthplace for Buddhism in the country.
The temple has a history that spans more than 1,600 years, dating back to its construction in the Western Jin Dynasty. Later, during the Tang Dynasty, many Buddhist texts from India were translated at the temple and then promulgated throughout the country.
Much of the temple was desecrated during the later Tang Dynasty when Buddhism was persecuted by the emperor Wuzong. But repairs and expansions have been made since then.
Many of the buildings currently on the site were constructed during the Qing Dynasty. There are numerous statues devoted to Buddhism on the site, with figures of giant elephants and Bodhisattvas scattered throughout. Believers can pay their respects at the various temple buildings.
A gallery talk by Nancy Eder tracing the image of the Buddha from its origins in India and its transmission to China, to its manifestations in Japan. The abundance of other Buddhist deities will also be discussed.
Famen Temple is situated 40 kilometers West of Xian City. It is a famous Buddhist temple with a long history, and became a Holy Land of Buddhism because the finger bone relic of Sakyamuni was placed in it.
Photographer and anthropologist Martin Gray spent 20 years photographing and writing about more than 1,000 sacred sites in some 80 countries around the world. He has since recorded his work in his exhaustive coffee table tome, Sacred Earth: Places of Peace and Power.
Here, he describes how he took his favourite heritage photograph, on his first trip to Cheju-do. The a small island in the Korean Strait is home to the sacred mountain Halla-san, believed by the ancient Chinese to form a bridge between Heaven and Earth.
In 1985, I was riding a bicycle through the mountains of Japan, from the north to the south, and visiting and photographing nearly 50 pilgrimage sites of Shintoism and Buddhism.
Borobudur is a Mahayan Buddhist temple complex located near the modern city of Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The huge monument, a popular place of pilgrimage for Buddhists, comprises six square platforms, topped by three circular platforms, decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. It is estimated to have been erected over a 75-year period, ending somewhere around 800 AD during the time of the Sailendra Dynasty of Java, under the leader Samaratungga. Its architect, Gundaharma, is a largely mythical character, thus his efficacy remains uncertain. The monument remained a popular place of worship for the island's Buddhist population - even under Hindu rule. Yet a number of volcanic eruptions around 1000 AD, and the shifting of power to East Java, meant Borobudur's prominence waned. And many historians believe the island's change of religion to Islam around the fifteenth century meant that the site became derelict.
Religious art was characteristic of the artistic trend in the Wei and Jin South and North Dynasties. Buddhism, which had been brought to China during the Han Dynasty, was particularly popular at this time. Buddhist statues of the period were made in a great number of different materials including gold, silver bronze and jade. One statue of note in the collection is a Buddha in iron said to have been modelled on Yan Jian, Emperor Wen Di of the Sui Dynasty. This particular emperor was an extremely devout buddhist and was raised in a buddhist nunnery.
Come to Xi’an, and you’ll no doubt head straight to see the city’s famous 
Photographer and anthropologist 
