Chinese orchard growing pears in shape of Buddha

Beijing: A Chinese farmer has grown 10,000 bizarre Buddha-shaped pears that have become quite the rage as 'good-luck charms' in his native village.Hao Xianzhang has created thousands of mini marvels at his orchard this season and said he plans to take the fruits of his labour to Europe, the Daily Mail reported.[caption id="attachment_447926" align="alignnone" width="380"] Pic used for representational purposes only. Agencies[/caption]Hao spent six years perfecting the intricate baby pears, carefully crafting each one which grows inside an individual mould.Despite their cost of 5 pounds each, locals in his home village of Hexia, in Hebia, northern China, have been snapping them up."People seem to think they are cute or lucky and will buy them as soon as they're off the tree," Hao said.He plans to export his novel idea to the UK and Europe.Gautama Buddha was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.Buddhism was first brought to China from India by missionaries and traders along the Silk Road that connected China with Europe in the late Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD).PTI