![]() ![]() It came under the spotlight in July when media reports said it is sinking and built without permission from local planning authorities, causing concerns over safety risks and legality.Ĭhina's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) issued a notice on October 8, pointing out that the giant Guan Gong statue damaged the style and historical context of the ancient city, ordering the local government to rectify the project. The statue alone cost about 170 million yuan ($25.9 million) however, its poor operation only earned revenue worth less than 13 million yuan in the past four years, far from what was expected, according to media reports. It didn't pass fire control inspections either before its operation started, reports said. The whole statue, however, didn't gain approval from the relevant authorities, except for its base, a two-story building called the Guan Gong cultural exhibition center. The whole project was built to boost tourism based on the image of Guan Yu and the ancient cultural background of Jinzhou, a city that was listed in the first batch of 24 famous historical and cultural cities in China in 1982 which includes Beijing, Xi'an of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Lhasa of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The statue stands in a Guan Yu-themed park which began construction in 2014 and operation in 2016. Qin Jun, deputy director of Jingzhou's natural resources and planning bureau, admitted that the statue is still "too big and tall," although he noted that there is no explicit height limitations on sculptures in the city's planning rules. Jingzhou has organized experts from planning, architecture, sculpture, and cultural protection areas to formulate a relocation plan for the statue, the Jingzhou government announced on Tuesday, after state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) revealed on Monday that local authorities have been turning a deaf ear to conversations about the two-year-long construction of the statute which actually didn't acquire any official approval.Ĭovering an area of 228 mu (15.2 hectares) and weighing more than 1,200 tons, the illegally-built statue measures 57.3 meters in height, surpassing almost double the 24-meter height limit on buildings where the statue is located, CCTV reported. The giant bronze statue of Guan Gong (or Guan Yu), the renown ancient Chinese general from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), in a park in Jingzhou, Central China's Hubei Province, may have to find another place to stay, after drawing criticism from China's authorities and public who said that its obtrusive size and incompatible appearance have damaged the style and historical context of the ancient city. Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Ukraine-Russia War Live Updates here.The giant bronze statue of Guan Gong in Jingzhou, Central China's Hubei Province Photo: IC The South China Morning Post said: “Workers in Jingzhou, Hubei province, have already removed the head of statue as its owner, the state-owned Jingzhou Tourism Investment and Development Group, started relocating it to a new site eight kilometres away, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported." Some of the city’s residents also complained that the attraction was an eyesore, telling local broadcaster Sina News that Jingzhou locals don’t go there." The report in Insider said: “The Chinese central government said that the statue ‘ruined Jingzhou’s historical appearance and culture’ and The Jingzhou Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development opted to move it from its original location at Guan Gong Park last December. Guan Yu was a celebrated war general who served in the Eastern Han dynasty and is now revered as a symbol of bravery and loyalty.Ī Twitter user had shared a few photos of the statue:Ī few government officials and locals were not impressed by the gigantic statue. The statue is purportedly located in an area in which building statues higher than 78 feet is barred, but local officials somehow managed to get the green light for the construction. First, it was constructed illegally, and then removed," local officials said of the statue in the central Chinese province of Hubei, the report said. ![]() “It’s a waste of more than 300 million yuan ($46 million). ![]() A report in Insider said that the statue of Chinese warrior-god Guan Yu “drew the ire of local anti-graft officials, who released a sharply-worded statement on September 7 calling for more oversight when approving “large projects" - like the construction of this colossal bronze statue back in 2016." ![]() Officials estimate that the relocation itself will cost another 20 million USD. There are also some accusations of graft during the construction. China is relocating a 190-foot statue that cost more than 26 million USD to be built because it ruined the area’s landscape. ![]()
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