CHONGQING - A project restoring a UNESCO-listed Buddhist statue in Southwest China finished on Wednesday, meaning it will soon go back on show to the public after seven years of restricted access.

The Qianshou Guanyin sculpture was carved some 800 years ago during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 to 1279) on Mount Baoding in the present-day municipality of Chongqing.

The "Goddess of Mercy" has 1,007 arms, with one eye carved in each palm.

Over the centuries, the statue's color faded, some of the gold foil covering peeled off, cracks appeared, and in 2007, part of one of its many fingers fell off.

The restoration project began in 2008.

The statue will be go back on display to the public on June 13, local cultural authorities said.