Two giant steel sculptures of perched owls made their debut in a rural community in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday, just in time for the Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Located in the Daai community in Shanlin District (杉林), the owls and the concrete base supporting them measure 6m high and 3m wide.
Owls are considered a symbol of luck in the culture of the indigenous Bunun people.
Photo: CNA
The gleaming owls, the largest steel owl structure in the world, are a new landmark in mountainous Shanlin and a memorial to the destruction brought by Typhoon Morakot in 2009, the Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council said.
The sculptures took China Steel Corp, Taiwan’s largest steel maker, six months and NT$5 million (US$165,600) to build, the council said.
At the beginning of the unveiling ceremony, Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council chief executive Chern Jenn-chuan (陳振川) asked participants to observe a moment of silence for the victims of underground explosions on Thursday in Kaohsiung.
The blasts, suspected to be related to a gas leak, killed at least 28 people.
Speaking from his experience of post-Morakot reconstruction, Chern said he believes the people injured in the explosions will be able to recover and, with the help of society, make Taiwan a safer place.
Constructed on a 60-hectare plot, Daai community is the largest of 44 reconstruction projects the council has completed since Morakot battered the nation on August 8, 2009, leaving 680 people dead.
The community accommodates 1,006 households and about 3,000 residents.
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