Gelephu Mindfulness City governor Lotay Tshering received a Guinness World Records certificate on November 3, after about 40,000 volunteers raised 108 Buddhist stupas along a river in southern Bhutan in roughly nine hours.
The record is listed as the most stupas, or chortens, consecrated simultaneously across multiple venues, Daily Bhutan reported. A Guinness adjudicator handed the certificate to Tshering in Gelephu on Tuesday evening.
The work itself happened two days earlier. On November 1, teams started at 3 a.m. and finished at 11:55 a.m., according to The Hindu, which quoted officials who oversaw the attempt.
That date mattered in Bhutan. It marked the 18th anniversary of the coronation of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Lhabab Duechen, a Buddhist holy day.
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A corridor of 108 towers along the Mau Chhu
The structures are Jangchub Chortens, or Stupas of Enlightenment. They stand along the banks of the Mau Chhu River, which The Hindu described as the lifeline of Gelephu, a town near the border with India.
Each one is about 15 metres tall, according to Daily Bhutan and Al Jazeera. The Hindu put the height at 14 metres. All three outlets agree the stupas sit about 108 metres apart.
Together they form a line roughly 11.7 kilometres long, Daily Bhutan reported. Al Jazeera, citing officials, described the corridor as about 12 km of riverbank near the Indian border.
Teams of 20 to 23 at every site
The work was split into small crews. Officials told The Hindu that volunteers were divided into teams of 20 to 23 people, each assigned to one site and working at the same time as the others.
Thousands more handled transport, logistics and preparation around them, Daily Bhutan reported. Officials quoted by Al Jazeera said work started after midnight and described the effort as a physical form of prayer.
The speed came from months of preparation. Construction materials and prefabricated components were prepared in advance and placed at each of the 108 sites before the day began, according to Daily Bhutan.
Monks also prepared the zung, the sacred texts, relics and consecrated objects placed inside each chorten, ahead of time. Once raised, all 108 structures were consecrated simultaneously, which is what the record measures.
About $200,000 for each stupa
Each chorten cost an estimated $200,000, The Hindu reported. At that estimate, the full set of 108 represents roughly $21.6 million, paid by individuals, families, communities and institutions from several countries.
One of them carries a diplomatic message. Chorten No. 76 was dedicated to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the king, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Indian minister Kiren Rijiju prayed there, Daily Bhutan reported.
Chinese actor and martial artist Jet Li also joined the volunteers who raised the stupas, according to Daily Bhutan, alongside religious leaders, invited guests and skilled construction teams.
“I was worried” about doing it in one day
The king had announced Project 108 on February 21, giving organizers about eight months to plan a build that had to be completed in a single morning, Daily Bhutan reported.
“I was worried that raising 108 stupas in a single day might not succeed,” the king said in a speech at the ceremony, quoted by Al Jazeera. “But everything went successfully, and for that, I am truly grateful.”
He later credited the crowd more than the towers. “To raise 108 Stupas in a matter of hours is a remarkable accomplishment,” he said, adding that the true result was seen in the Bhutanese people, The Hindu reported.
Nearly a quarter of the country came to watch
About 200,000 people attended, officials told AFP, according to Al Jazeera. That is close to a fourth of the population of Bhutan, which has just under 800,000 people.
Kuensel, the national newspaper, reported that tens of thousands of attendees had filled their assigned viewing areas along the west bank of the Mau Chhu by 2 a.m., an hour before work began.
Why 108
The number is sacred in Buddhism, which is widely practised in Bhutan. Daily Bhutan linked it to the 108 volumes of the Kangyur, the translated teachings attributed to the Buddha, and to 108 mental afflictions.
The stupas now have a daily use. Since the consecration, pilgrims have walked the full route clockwise around all 108. Some finish in five to six hours, while others take about 10, Daily Bhutan reported.
The first piece of a new city
The chortens were built as the spiritual foundation of Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special economic zone the king set up by royal charter in 2024, according to Al Jazeera. The city was designed by Danish architects.
Today Gelephu is a town of about 10,000 people, some 240 km south of the capital, Thimphu. Planners hope it will draw investment in green technology, education, tourism and financial services.
The site is set to connect to India’s rail network in neighbouring Assam, and an international airport is planned to open in 2029, Al Jazeera reported. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani joined the project as a founding member in January.
A bet against an exodus
The project also has an economic purpose. Bhutan faces rising unemployment, falling birth rates and the departure of skilled workers, and leaders hope the new city will persuade young people to stay, Al Jazeera reported.
Analysts have questioned whether the kingdom can attract enough money to build it. Bhutan mines Bitcoin with surplus hydropower and has pledged to use digital assets to support the city’s development.
Records built on mass effort have a habit of drawing crowds. In Mexico City last week, about 140 workers built a 33.4-metre Catrina that Guinness confirmed as the tallest in the world.
In Gelephu, the record took nine hours and the city around it may take decades. Will 108 towers along a river be enough to keep a generation of young Bhutanese at home?
