108 Stupas Rise in a Day for Bhutan’s Mindfulness City

Thousands of people gathered in southern Bhutan on Sunday to witness the installation of 108 Buddhist stupas along a 12-kilometre stretch of riverbank near the Indian border, a key step for the planned Gelephu Mindfulness City.

More than 40,000 volunteers took part in building the 15-metre-tall sacred monuments, beginning work after midnight. In Buddhism, the number 108 is considered especially auspicious, and the stupas are seen as a permanent form of prayer made in stone and earth.

Officials told the AFP news agency that around 200,000 people attended the ceremony — nearly a quarter of the Himalayan kingdom's population of just under 800,000. Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck expressed his gratitude after the event, acknowledging that some had worried whether 108 stupas could be completed in a single day.

The stupas mark the site of Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special administrative zone established by royal charter in 2024. The king conceived the project and Danish architects are designing it. The city is currently a small town of about 10,000 residents, about 240 kilometres south of the capital Thimphu.

Bhutanese leaders hope the new city will become an economic hub focused on sustainable business, green technology, education, tourism and financial services. It is also linked to the country's use of surplus hydropower for cryptocurrency mining, with digital assets expected to support future development.

The site is set to be connected to India's rail network in neighbouring Assam, and an international airport is slated to open in 2029. For residents like 56-year-old Bishnu Maya Moktang, who attended the ceremony, the project brings hope. "I hope to live long enough to see it," she told AFP.

The city is part of Bhutan's broader vision that balances economic growth with the concept of Gross National Happiness, and Sunday's gathering was described by participants as a historic moment for the nation.