Premier Zhou Enlai—Jinghong City, Yunnan Province, China - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

This statue stands at the main entrance to Manting Park, in the souther Chinese city of Jinghong. Access is gained after paying the 50 yuan ($7) ticket price. The statue is life-sized, gold in colour, and depicts the late premier in a kind and wise, elderly fashion holding a bowl and extending his right hand those entering the Park. I am fairly certain the statue is gold-plated bronze, but zero English language signs and speakers.

In summary, Zhou was a prominent political figure during the tenure of Chairman Mao, being something of a smart and influential power behind the throne. His greatest public triumph was his position as the first premier of the Reople's Republic of China.

from wikipedia:
Zhou Enlai (Chinese: ???; Wade–Giles: Chou En-lai; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Zhou served along with Chairman Mao Zedong and was instrumental in the Communist Party's rise to power, and later in consolidating its control, forming foreign policy, and developing the Chinese economy.

A skilled and able diplomat, Zhou served as the Chinese foreign minister from 1949 to 1958. Advocating peaceful coexistence with the West after the stalemated Korean War, he participated in the 1954 Geneva Conference and the 1955 Bandung Conference, and helped orchestrate Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. He helped devise policies regarding the bitter disputes with the U.S., Taiwan, the Soviet Union (after 1960), India and Vietnam.

Zhou survived the purges of other top officials during the Cultural Revolution. While Mao dedicated most of his later years to political struggle and ideological work, Zhou was the main driving force behind the affairs of state during much of the Cultural Revolution. His attempts at mitigating the Red Guards' damage and his efforts to protect others from their wrath made him immensely popular in the Cultural Revolution's later stages.

As Mao Zedong's health began to decline in 1971 and 1972, Zhou struggled against the Gang of Four internally over leadership of China. Zhou's health was also failing, however, and he died eight months before Mao on 8 January 1976. The massive public outpouring of grief in Beijing turned to anger towards the Gang of Four, leading to the Tiananmen Incident. Although succeeded by Hua Guofeng, it was Deng Xiaoping, Zhou's ally, who was able to outmaneuver the Gang of Four politically and eventually take Hua's place as paramount leader by 1978.

URL of the statue: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.