A statue of Zheng Chenggong, a general of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is being built in Quanzhou City, in east China's Fujian Province, and is expected go on display by the middle of the year.
The statue of the national hero riding a horse, which is 38 meters high, 42 meters long and weighs nearly 500 tons, would be the largest of its kind in the world, said Professor Li Weisi, of the arts college of Xiamen University, who designed the monument.
Zheng, who was known as Koxinga, was born in Fujian in 1623. Heled troops across the Taiwan Strait from Jinmen Island in 1661, and, after a year of fighting, defeated Dutch colonialists who had occupied Taiwan for 38 years.
Designers said that the statue was designed to reflect the historical scene where Zheng, his men and Taiwan compatriots hailed their victory over the Dutch and the recovery of Taiwan.
The statue was also designed to reflect the earnest hope of people of Quanzhou, Zheng's home town, for the realization of the reunification of the motherland at a earliest possible date, Li said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2003)
