The image of Buddha sat cross-legged, with one hand resting on his knee and the other in his lap, is engraved into the northern face of Khao Chi Chan. The solitary limestone hill was once used to supply the local construction industry with materials. In 1996, to commemorate His Majesty the King of Thailand’s golden jubilee, the 109-metre-tall and 70-metre-wide image was carved into the rock and then marked out in gold on the recommendation of the then Supreme Patriarch, who felt it was otherwise a waste of a perfectly good (and particularly beautiful) mountain.
The image was designed using computer software and then drawn onto the side of Khao Chi Chan using a laser. This was done entirely at night, so that the light of the laser could be seen more clearly. During the day, the image would be fixed and adjusted. Finally, with the drawing completed, gold was used to fill in the sculpture.