The huge Mao statue was put on display in Shenzhen: http://www.businessinsider.com/16-million-gold-mao-statue-unveiled-in-china-2013-12 This is one reason why China was accumulating bullion. 50 kg is not that much... I reckon with the gold that China has accumulated, they could even start putting together a small army or terracotta warriors (24 k)
50kg @$45k retail per kilo is only $2.25m. Jades aren't all that expensive and I'm sure the artists worked for peanuts. Or free... Remaining $10m odd probably ended up in officials pockets :/
The articles says "16 million". I suppose a lot of gold gold "lost" with the "sculpting process" Imagine the "sculptors" putting small pieces (shredded off) into their pockets... :lol: A few ounces every day...
If that gold could speak it would scream in protest....what a huge waste using a precious substance to idolise one of the most evil tyrants of the 20th century. I vote the Chinese re-melt that ugly statue and put the gold to another use...anything would be better !
Yeah I agree, it is a little strange! The Great Leap Forward was an unmitigated disaster, with some historians claiming up to 45 million lives lost. I have read attributions of the death of up to 75 million to Mao and his policies. Cool statue though!
Beat me to it! Also, as the Chinese are unable to innovate and end up imitating everything else in the world, look at the statue, apart from the legs being crossed it's a complete imitation of Abraham Lincoln's statue in Washington DC.
One leg is crossed neatly over the other, with 70% of people crossing left over right. This is the normal crossed-leg position used by European, Asian and British cultures.