A giant horse mascot statue about 7.6 meters high outside Jingfeng Shopping Center in Nanjing City has caused much heated debate on social networks. Due to its round and chubby shape, many people jokingly called it "fat pig horse".
According to Hunan Television, a representative of the shopping center said that the statue is part of a themed art exhibition organized by the center to celebrate the Binh Ngo Lunar New Year. The exhibition is themed "Bao Ma Truong An Hoa", using the image of the horse - the zodiac animal of the Binh Ngo New Year, symbolizing a prosperous and lucky new year.
In the exhibition, especially the fat horse statue takes the image of the Tang Dynasty horse. It is an intentional creation of a round shape to reflect the aesthetics of "round is beautiful" of the Tang Dynasty, symbolizing the strength and prosperity of the nation.
The statue design uses round, exaggerated lines that both reflect historical aesthetics and combine modern cartoon style, expressing traditional meaning and creating attraction for the New Year check-in point. Tourists and people coming to Nanjing can freely visit the exhibition from February 2 to the end of March 3.
Previously, from the end of 2025, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the image of the lucky horse as the official mascot for welcoming the Lunar New Year. This image is inspired by the "Flying Horse" statue of the Eastern Han Dynasty excavated in Gansu province, combined with a long horse's mane in the image of the "Five Flower Horse" of the Tang Dynasty. This Ministry launched gift products such as stuffed animals, gift boxes... to bring to Spring events and festivals around the world. New year mascot introduction activities have been carried out annually by this Ministry since 2023.
Lunar New Year is not only celebrated in China but also in many other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, or large Chinese communities around the world such as in the US, Japan... The Binh Ngo Lunar New Year 2026 according to the Lunar Calendar will begin from February 17th of the solar calendar.
The image of horses in the new year therefore appears not only in regions of China but in many other countries. Each place expresses the horse mascot in a different way. For example, a toy store in Yiwu, Zhejiang, China is popular because it produces a batch of goods called "crying flower horses".
