China's "ox-on-bear" sculpture attracts visitors

A sculpture of an ox sitting on a bear has become an unlikely sightseeing spot, attracting pilgrims who come to pray for the plunging stock market.

The 3.4-meter-tall bronze sculpture outside an art gallery in the eastern city of Xiamen has become a shrine surrounded by offerings of fruit and incense from visitors who come to pray for a bullish upturn or touch the ox's head for good luck.

Pictures of the bronze ox overpowering a bear began circulating online as the Chinese stock market had its two worst days in eight years. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.49 percent on Monday and 7.6 percent on Tuesday.

Cai Mingchao, who owns the gallery, said he spent more than 1 million yuan hiring artists to create the three-ton statue in June, when the tumbling stock market caused heavy losses for many of his friends.

"I hope the sculpture can sustain us spiritually and be a place where people can pour out their bitterness," Cai told Xinhua.

Xiamen resident Huang Qihuan visited the gallery to pray at the sculpture for a second time on Wednesday.

"The stock market has performed terribly lately, so I'm here to pray to the ox. I hope it can reinvigorate the market and return the lost money to us small investors," he said. Endi