Statue of Guan Yu (Jingzhou)

The Guan Yu Statue is a large monument to Chinese war god Guan Yu located in Jingzhou, China. The statue was designed by Han Meilin, and finished construction in 2016.[1] It stands at 58 metres tall, weighs 1,197 tonnes, and is made of around 4,000 bronze strips.[2] The project began in 2013 when Han Meilin visited Jingzhou for inspiration, and personally oversaw the designing and installing of the statue.[3]

Guan Yu Statue

Guan Yu is depicted wearing his traditional robes and cloak, whilst wielding his famous guandao known as the Green Dragon Crescent Blade,[4] which weighs 123 tonnes.[5] The figure stands atop a 10 metre pedestal, which resembles an ancient Chinese warship.[6] Inside the base is a 7,710 square-metre museum and shrine to Guan Yu.[6]

The project cost 1.5 billion yuan,[7] and was officially opened to the public on June 17th, 2016. On the day of the unveiling, activities such as worship, visiting fairs, and praying to Guan Yu were held. Han Meilin was present for the ceremony.[5]

Slated relocation

In September 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development criticized the Guan Yu statue as "vain and wasteful", and that its towering presence in the skyline "ruined the character and culture of Jingzhou as a historic city" and called for rectification.[7] An investigation by the state broadcaster China Central Television revealed that the project's developers only had permission to build the pedestal of the statue (the museum). The developers, treating the statue as a piece of art, claimed to be unaware that large statues required their own planning processes, nor were they aware that the statue's current location had a height limit of 15m.[8] Additionally, land under the statue started to sink under its weight.[9]

In response to the central government order, Jingzhou city officials announced in October that the statue will be moved to a to-be-determined location.[8]

References
  1. Bennett, Jay (July 15, 2016). "China Has an Incredibly Epic New Statue of an Ancient Warrior God". Popular Mechanics.
  2. Gautam, Shikha. "This massive sculpture in China should make to your bucket list". Times of India Travel.
  3. "中国最大的关公像在那,好文章-快读网". www.kuaidu.com.cn.
  4. "BEHOLD: Giant statue of Guan Yu completed in Hubei, locals stand in awe". July 12, 2016.
  5. "最大关公像亮相荆州 青龙偃月刀长70米_高清图集_新浪网". slide.news.sina.com.cn.
  6. "Jingzhou's Epic Guan Yu Statue". Atlas Obscura.
  7. "China deems two imposing tourist attractions 'vain and wasteful'". South China Morning Post. 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  8. Davis, Kenrick (2020-11-18). "God of War Statue Has to Go, Jingzhou Officials Say". Sixth Tone. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  9. "湖北"全球最大的关公像"正在沉降 建设未经规划许可". baijiahao.baidu.com. Economic Daily. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
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