An ancient Buddhist sculpture is to be reunited with its head more than a decade and a half after it was stolen.

Workers check an ancient Buddhist sculpture at the Beijing World Art Museum yesterday before it is sent on to Kaohsiung in Taiwan where it will be reunited with its head during a cross- Strait exhibition. Its head was stolen in 1996 from the Youju Temple in Hebei Province. — Xinhua

The statue, previously housed in a museum in north China's Hebei Province, is in Beijing to be checked before being delivered to Kaohsiung in Taiwan later this month where it will be pieced back together during a cross-Strait exhibition.

The sculpture, made of white marble, is around 1,400 years old. It was originally worshipped in Youju Temple in Lingshou County, Hebei, where the Buddha's head was stolen in 1996. The body, which is 1.59 meters tall, was later sent to the Hebei provincial museum for protection.

The head was presented to Hsing Yun, founding abbot of Fo Guang Shan Temple in Kaohsiung, by a private collector last year. After the abbot discovered its history, he contacted the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to return the relic.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council approved the body be sent to Kaohsiung for a three-month Buddhist Cultural Relic Exhibition jointly held by the administration and the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Hall, before the complete statue is sent back to Hebei.

Luo Xiangjun, director of the museum, said repairs will be made before it is put on public display next year.

The museum has selected another 77 relics for the exhibition in Taiwan.

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