A bar owner in China who erected a statue of two Buddhas locked in a passionate embrace has been ordered to take it down after local officials deemed it too sexy for public display. The four-metre high effigy is the centrepiece of Yanyu pub - meaning 'to have a fling' in Chinese - in Lijiang city and features a female Buddha sitting on the lap of a male Buddha in the lotus position. Lijiang, in southwestern Yunnan Province, . is one of the most popular tourist cities in China and is famed as the . region's romantic heartland where thousands flock each year in the hope of finding love. But the sculpture has come under fire from local officials and internet trolls who claim it blasphemes the religion's deities and insults Chinese heritage. Offensive? The four-metre high effigy is the centrepiece of Yanyu pub - meaning 'to have a fling' in Chinese - in the tourist city of Lijiang and features a female Buddha sitting on the lap of a male Buddha in the lotus position . The owner of the bar, who identified himself only as Mr Lin, defended the multi-million-Yuan sculpture, claiming it is a wholesome expression of Tibetan Buddhism and should not be viewed in any other context. 'The name of the Buddha is Happy . Buddha originating from Tibetan Buddhism,' he said. 'The male Buddha represents . law, the female Buddha represents intelligence. 'It is inappropriate to look at the statue in a worldly way.' Wholesome? The owner of the bar, who identified himself only as Mr Lin, defended the multi-million-Yuan sculpture, claiming it is a wholesome expression of Tibetan Buddhism . Controversy: It has come under fire from local officials and internet trolls who claim it blasphemes the religion's deities . And Mr Lin says the Buddha is in keeping with the city's public persona and will bring good luck in love and romance. He bought the statue from an Indian manufacturer and had it shipped to the Yanyu in April this year. But it proved controversial from the outset, with criticism taking root on social networking sites. One user wrote: 'It is blaspheming deities. The boss will invite nemesis and it is only a matter of time.' Another added: 'They will be punished in the end for destroying Chinese traditional beliefs to such an extent.'
The 4m-high effigy is centrepiece of Yanyu pub, Chinese for 'have a fling'
It features a female Buddha sitting on lap of a male Buddha in lotus position .
It is in Lijiang city, famed as romantic heartland where tourists flock for love .
Owner says it is called 'Happy Buddha' and has origins in Tibetan Buddhism .
But critics say it blasphemes religion's deities and insults Chinese heritage .
A bar owner in China who erected a statue of two Buddhas locked in a passionate embrace has been ordered to take it down after local officials deemed it too sexy for public display. The four-metre high effigy is the centrepiece of Yanyu pub - meaning 'to have a fling' in Chinese - in Lijiang city and features a female Buddha sitting on the lap of a male Buddha in the lotus position. Lijiang, in southwestern Yunnan Province, . is one of the most popular tourist cities in China and is famed as the . region's romantic heartland where thousands flock each year in the hope of finding love. But the sculpture has come under fire from local officials and internet trolls who claim it blasphemes the religion's deities and insults Chinese heritage. Offensive? The four-metre high effigy is the centrepiece of Yanyu pub - meaning 'to have a fling' in Chinese - in the tourist city of Lijiang and features a female Buddha sitting on the lap of a male Buddha in the lotus position . The owner of the bar, who identified himself only as Mr Lin, defended the multi-million-Yuan sculpture, claiming it is a wholesome expression of Tibetan Buddhism and should not be viewed in any other context. 'The name of the Buddha is Happy . Buddha originating from Tibetan Buddhism,' he said. 'The male Buddha represents . law, the female Buddha represents intelligence. 'It is inappropriate to look at the statue in a worldly way.' Wholesome? The owner of the bar, who identified himself only as Mr Lin, defended the multi-million-Yuan sculpture, claiming it is a wholesome expression of Tibetan Buddhism . Controversy: It has come under fire from local officials and internet trolls who claim it blasphemes the religion's deities . And Mr Lin says the Buddha is in keeping with the city's public persona and will bring good luck in love and romance. He bought the statue from an Indian manufacturer and had it shipped to the Yanyu in April this year. But it proved controversial from the outset, with criticism taking root on social networking sites. One user wrote: 'It is blaspheming deities. The boss will invite nemesis and it is only a matter of time.' Another added: 'They will be punished in the end for destroying Chinese traditional beliefs to such an extent.'
Yanyu pub - meaning 'to have a fling' in Chinese - in Lijiang city and features a female Buddha sitting on the lap of a male Buddha in the lotus romantic heartland where thousands flock each blasphemes the religion's deities and insults Chinese heritage. Offensive? The four-metre high effigy is the centrepiece of Yanyu pub - meaning wholesome expression of Tibetan Buddhism and claiming it is a wholesome expression of Tibetan