A face, said to resemble that of Lord Buddha, has appeared on a
limestone hill overlooking the Nam Thean Tong Temple in Ipoh,
capital city of Malaysian state of Perak, rousing great interest
among tourists and locals.
Jade seller Chan Yew Ming, who runs a shop at the temple, said
the face was first spotted by tourists recently.
"I saw them pointing at the limestone hill above my shop and
snapping photographs. I was curious and was surprised to see what
looked like Buddha's face there," the 53-year-old woman said.
According to Chan, none of the temple workers or committee
members had noticed the "face" previously because of the trees and
plants surrounding it.
She claimed that people had also seen other "manifestations" on
the hill, such as that of Buddha's palm and the face of Hindu deity
Ganesha.
"Just above Buddha's face, there is an elephant-like face, which
many people believe is Ganesha while several dark spots on the
rocky surface of the hill resemble Buddha's palm.
Chan added that news of the manifestations had reached as far as
Thailand and Singapore with many visitors from the countries coming
in droves to see the amazing sights.
Temple committee chairman Chan Kwai Hoong said heavy rainfall
and strong winds in recent times had caused tree branches to break,
exposing the face.
"We were surprised by it when tourists pointed it out to us," he
said.
Kwai Hoong, who has been with the committee for about 20 years,
stressed that it was impossible for people to climb up the hill to
sculpt the face. "The surface is too steep and nobody can climb up
there," he said.
Nam Thean Tong, situated between the Ling Sen Tong and Sam Poh
Tong temples, is believed to be one of the oldest temples here,
dating back to 1867 when it was first discovered by a Chinese
priest.