Many visitors to Thailand’s Samphran (sam-frahn) district are surprised to discover a bright-pink structure—encircled by a giant dragon—towering above the trees. Called Wat Samphran (waht sam-frahn) Temple, the mysterious structure rarely appears in guidebooks and is almost never found on maps of Samphran. Locals say the inspiration for the structure’s unusual design came to the artist during a weeklong meditation. But the artist’s identity remains a mystery.
Located approximately 25 miles outside of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, the building stands more than 80 meters (260 feet) tall. Locals believe its height honors the 80 years Buddha is thought to have lived.
The dragon sculpture, complete with a scaly, snake-like body and talons, spirals up the Buddhist temple’s exterior. The temple’s designer built a staircase within the dragon, but the stairs are in such poor condition that only certain sections are safe to climb. Visitors who ascend the tower will find a large shrine to Buddha on the roof.