Hubei to spend 155m yuan to relocate controversial giant Guan Gong statue
湖北将斥资1.55亿元搬迁备受争议的巨型关公雕像
The illegally built giant bronze Guan Gong statue in Jingzhou of Central China’s Hubei Province will be relocated to a new location after drawing criticism from authorities and the public because of its obtrusive size and incompatible appearance. The relocation plan, however, with an expenditure of 155 million yuan ($23.75 million), brought about even more controversies.
中国中部湖北省荆州市非法修建的巨大青铜关公雕像因其突兀的大小和不兼容的外观而受到有关部门和公众的批评，将被搬迁到新的地点。然而，耗资1.55亿元(合2375万美元)的搬迁计划引发了更多争议。
The statue weighs more than 1,200 tons and measures 57.3 meters in height. It was built in a theme park featuring Guan Gong (or Guan Yu), the renowned ancient Chinese general from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The new site, Dianjiangtai, in the city, which is said to have been built by Guan Yu for military drills, is about eight kilometers away from the original site, thepaper.cn reported.
雕像重达1200多吨，高57.3米。它建在一个以关公(或称关羽)为主题的公园里，关公是中国古代汉代(公元前206年-公元220年)著名的将军。据澎湃新闻报道，这座名为淀江台的新址据说是关羽为军事演习修建的，距离原来的地点大约8公里。
The relocation project will include disassembling, renovating the original site, installing and constructing the new site, and landscaping, according to an announcement on the official online approval and supervision platform for investment projects in Hubei.
根据湖北省投资项目审批监督官方网上平台的公告，搬迁项目将包括对原场地的拆除、改造、安装和建设新场地以及景观美化。
Prior to that, China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on October 8 criticized the giant statue for damaging the style and historical context of the ancient city Jingzhou, ordering the local government to rectify the project.
在此之前，中国住房和城乡建设部于10月8日批评这座巨型雕像破坏了古代城市荆州的风格和历史文脉，要求当地政府整改该项目。
