text: A mummified monk who is believed to have lived for 102 years has become a major tourist attraction after he was put in a crystal display case sitting in the traditional lotus position of prayer. Buddhist Wu Yunqing was preserved wearing a golden cloak and beads in 1998 at Lingquan Temple in central China's Anyang City. Now 17 years on, his facial features and wispy beard are still clearly visible, the People's Daily Online reports. Macabre attraction: Buddhist monk Wu Yunqing was preserved at Lingquan Temple in Anyang . Records show that his parents died he was 15-years-old, leading him to run away to became a monk in Shanxi Yanan Qing Hua Temple. When Wu Yunqing passed away his disciples placed his body in the lotus position and sealed it inside a large porcelain vase with cement. The body was later taken out and placed beneath a crystal glass cover in the Wu Yunqing Memorial Garden at Linquan temple. Then and now: Buddhist Wu Yunqing, pictured left, looks remarkably similar 17-years after his death after he was mummified . Self-mummification was a way to preserve a person’s body after death and was practised in various areas of the world including Asia. Earlier this year, mummified remains of a man apparently meditating in the lotus position were unearthed in Mongolia with experts estimating the human relic was 200 years old. The amazing mummified remains of a man apparently meditating in the lotus position were unearthed in Mongolia . Mummified remains of a monk were also found encased in a Buddha statue dating back to the 11th or 12th Century after a CT scan and endoscopy were carried out by Drents Museum at Meander Medical Centre in the Netherlands. It led to hundreds of villagers signing a petition demanding the return of the relic which they believe was stolen in 1995 from Spring Village in eastern China's Fujian province. The mummified remains were discovered at the end of February after he took the statue to the museum in the Netherlands to be restored. According to various Chinese media, the Dutch collector said he is willing to return the Buddha statue if it is proved to be the one stolen from Fujian. A Buddha statue (left) containing a mummified monk (right) was stolen from a village temple twenty years ago, Chinese experts believe . Zhu Guosheng, a mummification master who has preserved the bodies of dozens of monks since 1990s, told Guangzhou Daily that a large porcelain vase is the key to the success of the Buddhist tradition. 'The process can be divided into resting the body in the vase, sealing the body in the vase and opening the vase,’ said Mr Zhu. To help with the preservation, a variety of ingredients are put into the vase, such as ground lime, shredded wood, coal and sandalwood. The body is usually kept in the container for three years before being taken out. Mr Zhu said if it's not rotten, then the deceased monk will potentially be wrapped under a layer of gold foil and turned into a statue.
target: Monk Wu Yunqing, who was 102, sits in lotus position in golden cloak .
  Skin, hair and facial features are all clearly visible years later .
  Mummification a form of higher enlightenment for some Buddhist monks .
  A large porcelain vase is the key to the success of preserving bodies .