The local government has responded with six "unknown" questions, and the 7.15 million giant "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" sculpture in Lushan County, Henan Province has sparked controversy
According to an article titled "Hometown of Chinese Cowherd and Weaver Girl Culture" on the official website of Lushan County People's Government in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl originated in Lushan, formed in Lushan, rooted in Lushan, and spread throughout the country and even the world.
This year's Qixi Festival, the sculpture of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" in Lushan County was unveiled. Afterwards, the sculpture, which cost 7.15 million yuan to build, attracted attention and discussion. Many people question: Where did the money go?
According to a bid announcement for the urban sculpture project at the intersection of Yingbin Avenue by the Lushan County Housing and Construction Bureau on the Chinese Government Procurement Network, the bidding announcement was released on June 14th of this year through open bidding. The bidding was opened on July 6th and the winning bid was announced on the same day, with a winning amount of 7.152 million yuan. The winning enterprise was Ruize Art Co., Ltd.
The procurement content mainly includes the relocation, transportation, and installation of stones at the original site; The entire process of designing, producing, transporting, and installing urban sculptures at the intersection of Yingbin Avenue; The design of the sculpture requires works of art created by renowned international and domestic sculptors, showcasing the image of the city of Lushan, its urban style, and its future urban development. The sculpture is approximately 17 meters high and adopts a combination of copper casting, forging, relief, and coloring to showcase the new image of Lushan as a cultural and tourism city. The funding situation shows as: fiscal funds, already implemented.
After the unveiling of the sculpture, many people roast that Lushan County government spent 7.15 million yuan to build the statue, thinking that the cost was too high. "What materials are being used, worth over 7 million yuan?" "If financial funds have been used, should they be made public?"
Some people have also found pictures taken on June 23rd, claiming that the pedestal of the statue at Yingbin Road has been erected, suspecting that the project started without bidding.
In addition, some people have expressed doubts about the design of the statue. The "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" statue, which cost 7.15 million yuan to build, is extremely similar to the "Xiangjiang Goddess" sculpture in the Xiangjiang Goddess Park of Changsha Dawangshan Tourist Resort, which was completed in January 2021. "The two are almost identical in terms of main structure, material, color matching, and relief design, except for the differences in the base and character parts."
According to media reports, the staff of Lushan County Housing and Construction Bureau replied that the bidding and construction of the sculpture is in accordance with the process. If there are doubts about the cost of the sculpture, they can raise them to the audit departments of Pingdingshan City and Henan Province.
According to reports, staff from the Lushan County Government Office stated that the public opinion on this matter has been taken into consideration by the county and related work is currently underway.
On the morning of the 28th, the reporter dialed the phone of the Lushan County Government Procurement Service Center, and a staff member said that they are supervising the bidding process. The bidding process of the project is standardized, fair, just, and open.
A staff member of the 12345 hotline in Pingdingshan told reporters that they have received a large number of complaints about the sculpture of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" in Lushan County in the past two days. Currently, they have not received any feedback from the relevant departments on the handling, and the feedback results are usually provided within 7 working days.
To answer public doubts, on the 28th, the reporter dialed the phone of the Lushan County Government Office. After the reporter stated their identity and purpose, the staff member replied with 6 "I don't know" and 1 "I'm not sure.".
The reporter asked if all the 7.15 million yuan mentioned in the winning bid announcement was used to build the "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" sculpture, and the staff member said "I don't know". The reporter asked if they had noticed that the "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" sculpture was accused of being similar to the "Xiangjiang Goddess" sculpture in Changsha, and the other party said "I don't know, I don't know". The reporter asked if they had paid attention to online public opinion, and the other party said "I don't know, I don't know". The reporter asked which department should be verified, and the other party said "I'm not very familiar" and "I'm not sure". The reporter questioned whether the Lushan County Government Office had previously interviewed the media and said that the county had already paid attention to public opinion, but the staff member still said "I don't.
As of the time of the reporter's press release, the phone calls from the Housing and Construction Bureau of Lushan County and the county and city level propaganda departments have been unanswered.
On the 28th, the reporter repeatedly called the winning bidder Ruize Art Co., Ltd., but there was no answer.
According to Tianyancha, the above-mentioned company was established in 2011 and its address is located in Longgang District, Shenzhen. In the company's public bidding details, it has won several bids for the construction of sculptures in Lushan County since 2019. On September 27, 2019, the Lushan Cultural and Tourism Bureau announced the results of the Lushan Iron Smelting Scene Sculpture Project. The winning company was Shenzhen Guodi Landscape Art Co., Ltd., with a winning amount of 1.6212 million yuan.
In March 2021, Ruize Art Co., Ltd. won the bid for the Lushan County Housing and Construction Bureau's Shahe Landscape Sculpture in Lushan County, with a bid amount of 900000 yuan.
