A Buddha statue believed to be 600 years old has been discovered in a reservoir in east China's Jiangxi province. The statue found after water levels dropped during renovation works.

According to CHINA TOPIX, the structure was first discovered by local villagers. The discovery of the head of the Buddha was spotted last month when the water level fell by more than 10 meters during work on a hydropower gate.

The investigation was conducted underwater mission earlier this month under the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and Jiangxi Provincial Research Institute of Archaeology.

The investigation team has discovered a 3.8 meter tall Buddha statue is sitting against a cliff and calmly looking over the body of water. According to CNN, a base of temple hall was also found under the water, experts believe that the base temple belongs to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The director of the Research Institute of Archaeology of Jiangxi province reported, a preliminary study of the statue suggests that it was probably built during early Ming Dynasty, maybe even earlier as the Yuan Dynasty.

The researchers also pointed out that, the statue was unveiled; while an inscription containing 30 letters was discovered to the South. Hall's foundation in front lies in front of the statue, which is around 165 square meters.

However, China is home to a number of striking Buddhist cliff and cave painting. The world's top Buddha statue Leshan Giant Buddha has found in China. The Buddha statue was built by ancient people as a spiritual protector on the bank of two rivers convergence.

The Hongmen reservoir lies on the ruins of the ancient Xiaoshi Township, which is a significant business hub between Jiangxi and Fujian provinces.

As per the report from researchers, the statue was submerged in 1960 when the Hongmen reservoir was built. That time the authorities were not aware of the heritage protection.