An incredibly tall statue of China’s most famous philosopher, Confucius, has recently been formally inaugurated in Qufus, Shandong province – the teacher and writer’s hometown – during the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday.

The statue measures up a height of 72 meters (236 feet) tall, making this the biggest statue of the great Chinese philosopher in the world, according to Shanghaiist. It sits atop of a base that covers an area of 7,800-square-meters (83,958-square-feet). For reference, the Statue of Liberty stands at 93 meters (305 feet).

There’s great significance that the height of the statue holds to the great Chinese philosopher. Hu Yantao, the head of the project, revealed in 2013 that the height, 72, is the same as the number of disciples Confucius had, Xinhua reported.

While the whole area has a strict law that dictates construction should never exceed the height of Dacheng Hall, the main sanctuary in the Temple of Confucius, which was measured at 32 meters tall (104 feet), the statue clearly is an exception to this rule.

The Head of the Confucius Research Institute of China, Yang Chaoming, believes that the world’s tallest Confucius statue will help attract people’s attention from around the globe that would eventually help promote traditional Chinese culture.

Images screenshot via YouTube / RT