The bronze statue of Guan Gong in Jingzhou Photo: IC 

The illegally built giant bronze Guan Gong statue in Jingzhou of Central China's Hubei Province will be relocated to a new location after drawing criticism from authorities and the public because of its obtrusive size and incompatible appearance. The relocation plan, however, with an expenditure of 155 million yuan ($23.75 million), brought about even more controversies.

The statue weighs more than 1,200 tons and measures 57.3 meters in height. It was built in a theme park featuring Guan Gong (or Guan Yu), the renowned ancient Chinese general from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The new site, Dianjiangtai, in the city, which is said to have been built by Guan Yu for military drills, is about eight kilometers away from the original site, thepaper.cn reported.

The relocation project will include disassembling, renovating the original site, installing and constructing the new site, and landscaping, according to an announcement on the official online approval and supervision platform for investment projects in Hubei. 

The relocation project was approved by Jingzhou's development and reform authority on December 19, and is scheduled to start in January, the announcement shows.

Noticeably, the removal of copper pieces on the statue and its installation at the new site alone will cost 40 million yuan, according to another announcement released on a bidding platform of Hubei.

The construction of the statue cost about 170 million yuan, according to media reports. The project with its huge cost sparked another round of criticism over the squandering of resources.

"It is ridiculous to spend another 155 million yuan to move it to another place. Shouldn't we hold relevant parties legally accountable, and just keep the statue?" a netizen commented.

"Imagine how many schools could be built for kids in poverty-stricken areas, preventing kids from dropping out, with 40 million yuan?" another said.

"Build it then tear it down; that's how someone gains profits."

In November, national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported that the statue was actually illegally built and local authorities had been turning a blind eye toward the two-year-long construction process. Jingzhou government later announced that it had organized experts to formulate a relocation plan for the statue.

Prior to that, China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on October 8 criticized the giant statue for damaging the style and historical context of the ancient city Jingzhou, ordering the local government to rectify the project.