Entity
Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy Statue of Mao Zedong in Changsha Qingshuitang Scenic Area
Changsha, Hunan, China
In the quiet courtyard of the CPC Changsha History Museum at No. 538 Bayi Road, a towering figure rises against the Hunan sky. This is the giant aluminum-magnesium alloy statue of Mao Zedong, erected in 1969 near the historic Qingshuitang pond. Cast from high-strength aviation metal typically reserved for building aircraft, the monument catches the daylight with a distinct, silvery metallic gleam.
The statue stands exactly 7.1 meters tall, a direct reference to the July 1st founding date of the Communist Party of China. With its heavy stone pedestal, the structure reaches a total height of 12.26 meters, marking Mao's birth on December 26th. The sculpture portrays an elderly leader clad in a thick, heavy military overcoat and cap. His right arm is raised in a permanent waving gesture, while his left hand rests naturally at his side, fingers slightly closed.
This monument represents a historic bridge across China. In 1968, the people of Heilongjiang Province decided to send a symbolic gift to Hunan to support local revolutionary sites. Artists at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts took up the task. He Zhongling shaped the original small-scale model, and Sun Jabin sculpted the facial features of the head. Workers at the Northeast Light Alloy Processing Factory in Harbin cast the alloy under the management of Wei Jianxing, who later rose to the CPC Central Committee's Standing Committee.
On the rear base of the statue, a cold metal plaque remains riveted to the alloy, bearing a cast inscription from the twenty-five million people of Heilongjiang. Surrounding the plaza, streetlights shaped like red-tasseled spears cast a warm glow, evoking the atmosphere of early revolutionary struggles. Today, managed by the Changsha Modern and Contemporary Cultural Relics Protection and Management Center, this provincial cultural relic remains a rare surviving outdoor alloy monument. Visitors still gather at its base, leaving fresh flowers on the stone plaza while the nearby pond ripples in the wind.