Sun Yat-sen’s Bronze Statue “Revived” in the Center of Nanjing , China

(The following news is from Yangtse Evening Post by editors of our post) “Without Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue, Xinjiekou has no soul”. Sun Yet-sun’s bronze statue standing at Xinjiekou plaza in downtown Nanjing was once an important cultural landmark of Nanjing. Nanjing, a famous historic city, especially Xinjiekou as its center always has an indissoluble bond with Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue. Today’s return of Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue after nine-year absence has fulfilled the dream of all natives in Nanjing.
Despite the drizzle,a grand opening ceremony for the return of Sun Yat-sen bronze statue was held on the morning of May 23rd, 2010. Ji Jianye, mayor of Nanjing, and others attended the opening ceremony.
“Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue played a role as a window of the soul of Nanjing for a very long time in the past. Resetting Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue at Xinjiekou, center of Nanjing, fully demonstrates that Nanjing is a city of universal love”, remarked Lu Bing, vice mayor of Nanjing, at the opening ceremony. The statue will continue to bring all the Chinese people revering Mr. Sun Yat-sen together to grasp opportunities brought about by the times, to face up to our historic responsibilities, and to strive for complete national reunification, rejuvenation of the Chinese nation., as well as a harmonious society of long-term peace and concerted prosperity.
As informed, Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue was moved out of Xinjiekou plaza due to the construction of No.1 subway line of Nanjing in 2001. With No.1 subway line completed, many experts and citizens called for the return of Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue. The plan of moving Sun Yat-sen’s statue back was delayed due to the subsequent construction of No.2 subway line. After Xinjiekou station of No.2 subway line was completed this year, the projects of moving Sun Yat-sen statue back and rebuilding Xinjiekou plaza were launched at the same time and undertaken by Nanjing Municipal Public Utility Administration.
Traffic flow of Xinjiekou area has increased rapidly due to the development of Nanjing transportation in recent years, so roundabout-type transportation is not suitable for Xinjiekou any longer. Therefore, after the return of Sun Yat-sen’s bronze statue to Xinjiekou, a small garden of 18 meters in diameter, instead of a roundabout of the same size as the previous one, has been built at Xinjiekou.
In addition, glossy granites of dark colors are used to build the pedestal of the statue and the design height of the pedestal is set to 5.37 meters to make the statue fitted into the overall appearance of Xinjiekou. The bronze statue is 11.12 meters high including the height of its pedestal. The height of 11.12 meters implies that the birthday of Mr. Sun Yat-sen was December 12th , which happens to be close to 1:1ratio between a statue and its pedestal.