Vientiane, Laos 20th century restoration of 1565 original Ho Phra Keo was built in 1565 as a royal chapel and repository for the celebrated statue of the Emerald Buddha, which the Laotians had taken from Northern Thailand in 1551. The jasper statue remained in the temple until 1778, when the Thais invaded and recaptured the statue, taking it off to Bangkok, where it remains to this day. The Lao temple was destroyed in 1828-1829 during the Thai sack of Vientiane; rebuilt in 1936; and restored again in 1993.