The Gandantegchinlen Monastery, which is the main Buddhist centre in Mongolia will mark the 20th anniversary of the rebuilding of Avalokitesvara statue on 26^th of October. The 26.5-meter-high statue of Avalokitesvara – an incarnation of the Buddha, is the tallest indoor statue and stands in the main temple of the monastery.

The original statue was made of copper, was constructed after appeals to the Mongolian public; its intent was to restore the sight of the 8th Jebtsundamba, also known as Bogd Khan, who had claimed the title of Emperor of Mongolia. At the height of Stalin's purges in 1937, during which thousands of lamas were killed, Soviet troops dismantled the original statue. Following the collapse of the USSR and the return to democracy, the statue of Avalokitesvara was rebuilt with donations from the Mongolian people. The giant statue was completed in 1996. At the opening ceremony, the Dalai Lama blessed the new Avalokitesvara statue in Gandantegchinlen Monastery.

The statue contains 2,286 precious stones, flowers, the Ganjuur, Danjuur sutra, a life-sized Mongolian ger and is gilded with gold leaf.