Tian Tan Buddah

As it's claim to fame is a rather overly qualified one -- "largest sitting outdoor bronze Buddha" -- one may wonder if he or she might not be getting practiced upon by the good folks at the HK Tourism office. But 'in person' the "big Buddha" is really truly incredibly cool. It is huge and can be seen from the approach at the bottom of the mountain. It is a great day trip. We took the ferry to Silvermine bay where there were at least one million bicycles parked around the pier, left over from the days when there were no private cars on the island. We took a scenic taxi ride up and boom there it was. Of course we have to pay the price of 268 steps to the top. Evita wasn't up for it and fainted dead away. (nap time) and Jim got to carry her She woke up as soon as his foot passed the last step! Maybe it was the free ice cream that revived her...The Monks know how to inspire people!!

I have copied a paragraph from Wikipida describing the details of the statue:

The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representing gods or immortals. Like the Daibutsu in Kamakura, Japan, the Tian Tan Buddha is a image of Buddha Amitabha.
The Buddha is 34 meters tall, weighs 250 tonnes, and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007.[1] It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day.

The Tian Tan Buddha appears serene and dignified. His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction. His left hand rests on his lap in a gesture of giving dhana. The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues, as all others face south.
In addition, there are 3 floors beneath the Buddha statue: The Hall of Universe, The Hall of Benevolent Merit, and The Hall of Remembrance. One of the most renowned features inside is a relic of Sakyamuni, consisting of some of his alleged cremated remains. There is a huge carved bell inscribed with images of Buddhas in the show room. It was designed to ring every seven minutes, 108 times a day, symbolizing the release of 108 kinds of human vexations.

One thing that i got to say to Wikipidia, we were up there for a long time and never heard the bell ring. So i was pretty vexed!
The requisite cable car ride down from the top of the mountian sorted me out though. Best one yet!!