China Unveils A Giant Gold Plated Statue Of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong Monument Unveiled In Henan

Mao Zedong is the former communist ruler of China who has stirred up a bit of excitement in China thanks to his giant gold-plated statue that has been unveiled in Henan. The project was funded by private entrepreneurs and cost $459,000.
Mao Zedong Monument Unveiled In Henan 3
Mao Zedong Monument Unveiled In Henan

It is about 121ft high and has been created using steel, concrete and finally plated using gold. It was completed in December following 9 months of hard work involving labor and construction. Why is this structure creating a commotion? That’s because a few of Mao Zedong policies resulted in disaster and deaths in Henan, thus rendering the site as an insensitive location for the memorial to be located at. His ‘Great Leap Forward’ economic reform is held responsible for a famine in 1950’s and 60’s that is said to have caused millions of deaths in Henan.Mao Zedong Monument Unveiled In Henan 4

Despite this all, the number of folks who hold the monument in reverie is a lot. Most of the online chit chat about this topic is trending on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter). In fact, the current President of China, Xi JinPing, has also shared that Mao Zedong was a great leader while recognizing that he did make some mistakes.

TONGXU, CHINA - JANUARY 04: (CHINA OUT) A huge statue of Chairman Mao Zedong, 36.6 meters in height, is under construction at Zhushigang village on January 4, 2016 in Tongxu County, China. The statue costs nearly 3 million yuan (459,300 USD) donated by several entrepreneurs and some villagers in Zhushigang village. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

There are many users who didn’t share the same sentiment. One of them said, “Have they all forgotten the great famine to build this?” Another user writes, “This is so embarrassing!” Mao’s rule ceased in 1976 after his death and in spite of his mistakes, a lot of folks pay homage to his legacy!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *