A 14.2m statue of the mythical saviour of the nation, Saint Giong, was inaugurated on Oct. 5 on top of Da Chong Mountain in Soc Son suburban district of Hanoi.

The 85-tonne copper statue of the saint holding a grove of bamboo in his hand while flying off into the sky on his horse is a cultural project commissioned to celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

At the inauguration ceremony, State President Nguyen Minh Triet confirmed the great contributions of Saint Giong to the history of the national defence and laid stress on the cultural significance of the project to the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The construction of the statue was intended to express great gratitude to the ancestor, he said, adding that the statue would be an image to encourage people in study and work to contribute to national construction and defence.

Legend has it that Giong was born after his mother stepped into the footprints of a giant.
At the age of three, when invaders attacked the country, Giong suddenly grew into a giant himself. Giong wielded an enormous iron rod and an entire grove of bamboo to chase the invaders out of the country on the back of an iron horse presented to him by the king.
Following the enemy’s flight, Giong and his horse took off into the sky from Soc Mountain , never to be seen again.
He was worshipped as one of the nation’s four immortal saints.