An absolutely enormous statue of the ancient Chinese warrior/god Guan Yu has finally been completed in Jingzhou city, Hubei province, attracting tourists and locals alike.
Jingzhou's Guan Yu Park was designed to revolve around the concept and character for righteousness (义). In the middle, stands the legend himself, at 48 metres tall, atop a 10-metre-tall pedestal. Over 4,000 strips of bronze have been glued over the 1,320 ton sculpture that carries an intimidating axe-like weapon called the "Green Dragon Crescent Blade" which weighs another 136 tons.
The pedestal has been built to look like an ancient warship, wih Guan Yu is portrayed as a fearless warrior, ready for battle. For those unfamiliar with ancient Chinese history, Guan Yu, or Lord Guan, is a heroic general from the Three Kingdoms period, who was immortalized in one of China's most famous books and turned into a god. While his physical appearance is absent from historical records, he is often remembered as a robust man with a long beard.
