Only 300 limited-edition commemorative gold cards will be issued to mark the historic raising of 108 Jangchub Chortens at Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) on November 1, offering a rare keepsake of the landmark spiritual undertaking.
Pemadruk Bhutan Duty Free is introducing the 108 Chorten Limited Edition Commemorative Gold Card to mark the occasion, when all 108 Chortens, each measuring 15 metres in height, will rise together in a single day.
Produced in collaboration with The Singapore Mint, each card features a Chorten silhouette above the numerals “108”, crafted with three grams of 999 fine gold. It also carries the date of the occasion and the name Gelephu Mindfulness City. Only 300 pieces will be produced.
Marianne Liow, Chief Executive Officer of Pemadruk Bhutan Duty Free, said the card was created to help people preserve the memory of an extraordinary national and spiritual milestone.
“The rising of the 108 Chortens is more than an extraordinary achievement in a single day. It is a celebration of devotion, unity and the shared vision for Gelephu Mindfulness City,” she said.
She added that the commemorative gold card would allow people to remember and treasure the historic occasion for generations.
The release comes as Gelephu prepares for Project 108, an initiative spearheaded by His Majesty The King to raise 108 Jangchub Chortens simultaneously on November 1.
The 108 Chortens will be positioned along the Mau Chhu corridor, each separated by 108 metres, forming a sacred stretch of approximately 11.7 kilometres.
The number 108 carries profound significance in Buddhist tradition. It is associated with the 108 volumes of the Kangyur, which contain the Buddha’s teachings, and the 108 beads traditionally found on Buddhist prayer malas.
Each Chorten is designed as a sacred structure containing prayers, blessings and religious texts. The project website describes the structures as physical expressions of prayer, with their simultaneous raising symbolising a collective spiritual offering.
The extraordinary scale of Project 108 lies not simply in the construction of 108 sacred monuments but in the collective endeavour to raise them together on a single day. Preparations, including the construction of foundations and the development of individual sites, have been undertaken ahead of the historic occasion.
Against this backdrop, the commemorative gold card offers a tangible memento of a day expected to become an important milestone in Bhutan’s spiritual and cultural history. Its design brings together the image of a Chorten and the sacred number 108, linking the keepsake directly to the significance of the undertaking.
The card will be available from November 1 through the Bhutan Duty Free website, www.bdfl.bt, and at Pemadruk Bhutan Duty Free stores. Enquiries can be made through info@bdfl.bt.
With only 300 pieces available, the commemorative release is expected to appeal to collectors and those wishing to preserve a personal reminder of the day 108 Jangchub Chortens rise together in Gelephu.
Sherab Dorji, Thimphu
