Shanghai's Bull
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The ''Shanghai Bull'', the ''Bund Financial Bull'' or the ''Bund Bull'' are monikers associated with a derivative of Arturo Di Modica's '' Charging Bull'' installed in late April 2010 and unveiled on The Bund in Shanghai on May 15, 2010. The work of art is said to have the same height, length and weight as the New York City ''Charging Bull'', actually it's long, tall. The bull is reddish as a tribute to the country that commissioned the work. It leans to right instead of the left like ''Charging Bull'' and has a more menacing tail. The Bull's popularity has been a problem for local authorities.


Description

The bull is referred to by many names in the press with one claiming that local dignitaries tend to call it the ''Bund Financial Bull''. Many stories use the moniker the ''Bund Bull''. Some stories refer to it as the ''Shanghai Bull'' to differentiate it from the artist's other more famous bull in New York. Di Modica credits both Western and Chinese cultures as influence on the work, noting that the "Charging Bull" and the Chinese zodiac's Ox served as inspiration. The bull is symbolic of perseverance, diligence and wealth in Chinese culture. The animal's confident stance represented a bullish and prosperous future for the rising financial center, Di Modica said. "It must be strong. It's about a strong nation," he says. "If you observe the tail of the bull, the tail is spirally pointing to the sky, meaning a uplifting financial trend," he said. The bull had been commissioned to be twice the size of
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
's ''Charging Bull''. The city also requested a bull that was younger and stronger than New York City's bull to symbolise "the energy of Shanghai's economy", Zhou Wei, the head of
Huangpu district Huangpu, also formerly romanized Whangpoo or Whang-Po, may refer to: * Huangpu District, Shanghai, China ** Huangpu River, in Shanghai, China * Huangpu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China ** Huangpu Military Academy, in Guangzhou, China * Pazhou ...
said. "That's why the head of the Bund's bull looks up while the Wall Street Bull looks downward," he said. The bronze bull was crafted in Wyoming by a team of 40 that made five identical versions. At tall, long and 2.5 tonnes (2.7 tons), it is the same size as the Wall Street version, but "redder, younger and stronger" Di Modica said. The work was supposed to have been completed before the Chinese year of the Ox ended in February 2010. The Bull was installed the week before the
Expo 2010 Shanghai China Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the t ...
, referred to as the Shanghai World Expo, which opened on May 1. Sometimes speaking in Italian, Di Modica attended the unveiling on May 15, 2010 on the Bund waterfront.


Location

It is located in the Bund, which is considered to be a location that symbolizes the era of European
colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...
capitalism in China, and it will be adjacent to the
Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...
in Shanghai's Pudong district, which is a dynamically growing economic development zone. The bull is located in a square with four stock price screens across the river from the city's financial district. The newly opened square is being called Bund Financial Square. Like its Wall Street counterpart, the Bund Bull's male genitalia is rumored to produce good luck when stroked. Despite a constant security, visitors attempt to climb the bull to pray for good luck and hang bags on the horns while taking pictures. Eventually, the cordoning was discontinued due to the strong public desire to be close to the bull.


See also

*
2010 in art The year 2010 in art involves some significant events. Events *February 3 – The sculpture ''L'Homme qui marche I'' by Alberto Giacometti sells in London for £65 million, at this time a new world record for a work of art sold at auction ...
*
Cows on Parade CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenu ...
*'' Charging Bull''


Notes

{{coord missing, Shanghai 2010 sculptures Bronze sculptures in China Cattle in art Modernist sculpture Outdoor sculptures in Shanghai The Bund