Chalermchai Kositpipat's White Temple opens in Thailand

The Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple, opened in Chiang Rai, Thailand in July 2017, funded personally by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat with $1.2 million. 120 artists worked at reduced rates on the project, which began in 1997. The temple features white ivory walls with hundreds of mirrors, a bridge flanked by demons, stucco hands holding alms bowls, a crematorium, and a gold-leaf guesthouse. Decorations blend Buddhist mythology with pop culture icons like Spiderman and Kung Fu Panda. The temple sits in a six-hectare park and already attracts hundreds of daily tourists. Three buildings are complete, with nine planned; construction may continue for five decades, drawing comparisons to the Sagrada Familia.