Open arms: The statue of Confucius in the seaside resort at Beidaihe in Hebei province. — AFP
BEIDAIHE: Arms outstretched like Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, a towering Confucius statue stands in the seaside resort that hosts the Chinese Communist leadership’s summer retreat, opposite a hulking monument to President Xi Jinping’s dreams.
The gleaming gold-yellow sculptures are part of a 50 million yuan (RM29mil) complex built by Wang Dianming, a portly ex-general who says his fortune comes from a series of travel and educational companies.
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