The “Lotus Flower in Full Bloom” sculpture in Golden Lotus Square in Zape reopened to the public yesterday after its renovation was completed ahead of schedule, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement.
The six-metre-high sculpture, which was inaugurated on December 20, 1999 when the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) was established, had been surrounded by scaffolding since November 19 when the renovation started.
The renovation was initially slated to last 25 days, until December 15, but yesterday’s statement underlined that the work had been completed ahead of schedule.
The bureau pointed out last month that the sculpture has stood in the square for almost 24 years, because of which its renovation was needed to ensure that it would always be in a good condition.
Yesterday’s statement noted that with the support of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR, the Municipal Affairs Bureau commissioned the entity that created the sculpture to carry out the renovation.
According to the statement, the renovation work included spraying on a topcoat, applying gold leaf adhesive, gold leaf gilding, and spraying a protective coating.
The sculpture located near the Macau Grand Prix Museum, is one of Macau’s most popular tourist attractions as it symbolises Macau’s return to the motherland.
According to local media reports last month, some local travel agencies still chose to take tour group members to the “Lotus Flower in Full Bloom” sculpture under renovation at that time, although the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) stated later that travel agencies should not take their customers to tourist attractions that are closed for renovation, urging the agencies to always pay close attention to the information released by public entities about the temporary closures of their facilities, when planning their respective itineraries.
Visitors pose for photos in front of the “Lotus Flower in Full Bloom” sculpture in Golden Lotus Square yesterday after its reopening. – Photo: IAM
