Giant 'nude Buddha' statues hanging off Chinese restaurant taken down after uproar

Two giant statues of 'naked' Buddha have been reportedly taken down from a restaurant in Jinan, China, after onlookers expressed horror and disgust.

One of the two statues, almost 50 feet in height, shows Buddha climbing the wall of the restaurant, with its bottom facing the street, while the other statue is shown waiting on top of the wall.

According to Daily Star, the sculptures appear to be inspired by an old Chinese tale, 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall', which tells the story of a Buddhist monk that scrambled over a wall to try some delicious smelling soup.

The statues sparked debate online, with people saying the so-called 'artwork' was 'direspectful' to the Buddhists.

Meanwhile, Miaoming, from the Beihai Zen Monastery in Qinghai province, China, wrote on his blog that he burst into tears when he saw naked Buddhas climbing over the wall! How come a nation with a thousand-year history has so little respect for its own culture?"

The report added that a Chinese soup dish, which has risen to popularity in China, has been named after the tale, in which a poet has claimed that Buddha would have also done the same, if he wanted to taste the soup.