SFist brings us news that the giant Buddha statue that has been sprawled out on Civic Center Plaza since the Spring will be headed back to Shanghai in early 2011:

Start saying your goodbyes to the awesome (or awesomely ugly, if you prefer) “Three Heads, Six Arms” statue at Civic Center plaza, because the behemoth work by Zhang Huan will be packing up and leaving town next Spring according to NBC Bay Area.

They also have a PSA on how to photograph oneself at the statue:

Please don't all rush at once to climb on it for a photo opportunity though, we're fairly certain that China would like it back without too many footprints. (And also: you shouldn't be climbing on artwork anyway. For shame!)

Whoops.

(photo by terry.b, who, once again, is worth a follow on Flickr)