Big wheels keep on turning in China, where a new Guinness World Record for the largest prayer wheel was set last month in Heyin Town, Guide County, Qinghai Province.
The wheel measured 26.285 m (86 ft 2.84 in) in height and 10.22
m (33 ft 6.36 in) in diameter, and weighed 200 tons
(440,92.45 lb).
A prayer wheel is a cylindrical "wheel" with prayers or depictions
on it. Tibetan Buddhist tradition says that spinning a prayer wheel
can have the same effect as reciting prayers out loud.
In order to qualify for the record, prayer wheels must be made
from metal, wood, stone, leather, or coarse cotton and include
Buddhist scriptures inside the wheel. It also must be able to
be turned by human hand, water, or other means.
Named the China Fortune Wheel, the recording-holding metal
prayer wheel was created by the Huanghe Investment &
Development Co., Ltd. of Guide County (China).
Guinness World Records Adjudicator Angela Wu measured the prayer
wheel's height and diameter before she presented the official
certificate.
