A huge red wooden sculpture of a roaring Oriental Lion now stands proudly in a Central Chinese city square, and the journey it took to get there makes it all the more remarkable. The Oriental Lion has been dubbed, carved from a single redwood tree trunk for more than three years. It is established by Chinese architect Dengding Rui Yao and assisted more than 20 people.
The project was initiated in Myanmar, where the carving was seen through. Lastly, when the great beast was completed in Dec 2015, it was transported more than 3000 miles to reach Wuhan’s Fortune Plaza Times Square. Moreover, Oriental Lion‘s head, paws, and tail have been sculpted into a smooth finish, with the torso maintaining the trunk’s uneven texture. The giant 47.5 feet long, 16.5 feet high, and 13 feet wide, the Oriental Lion is a force to be reckoned with.
The Lions play an important role in traditional Chinese culture. It is seen as protectors, lion statues became a common installation at the gates of imperial palaces, including the legendary Forbidden City in Beijing. Nowadays, they can even be found outside of hotels and restaurants, just in case any evil spirits drifted from the Han dynasty into modern times.
This is the world’s largest redwood sculpture according to Guinness World Records. It’s unknown if the wood was sourced from China, it was a tree that was sick or dying rather than being chopped down for the project.
If it did come from China, it’s most likely a Met-asequoia, a fast-growing tree found in the Hubei Province. Since its installation in Wuhan, the giant lion has become a favorite new monument in the city.
