‘Too ugly to look at’: US$11,000 fairy statue made by rural artists at China scenic spot mocked online for ‘aesthetic defects’

An “ugly” fairy statue in China has become the subject of ridicule online because of its ungainly appearance, which local authorities blamed on the “mediocre” craftsmen who made it.

In recent weeks, videos of a statue of a mythological Peony Fairy at a park in Nansong village in central China’s Henan province have trended on mainland social media after a visitor posted a clip titled “Lacking any beautiful elements”, the New Huanghe Daily reported.

“She has an abnormal look and a badly proportioned shape, with a long waist and short legs. She is too ugly to be looked at,” the person who shared the video wrote in the post.

The 5.8 metre-high statue was supposed to be a landmark monument in the rural peony-themed scenic spot.

The Nansong village replica of the fairy statue was created in just one month at a cost of 80,000 yuan (US$11,000), paid for by the local village committee.

According to a local news report, the park opened in April 2021, and several village officials posed for photos with the statue during the unveiling ceremony.

Just one month before the park opened, villagers recommended two “folk craftsmen”, surnamed Song and Wang, to make the statue.

The duo went on a study trip to Wangcheng Park in Luoyang, a major city in the province famed for its peony flower displays, and took pictures of the Peony Fairy statues as a reference for the sculpture they were planning on creating.

“The bad comments and vicious speculation about this statue are caused by the limited professional skills of our rural artisans. There is a big gap between the statue’s current appearance and its original intended design,” a village official who declined to be identified said.

“We will bear this in mind and strengthen our supervision of such works in the future. The next step is fixing and improving this Peony Fairy statue to make it look beautiful.”

The original video of the “ugly” statue has been viewed more than 5 million times on Douyin alone.

“It cracks me up. It’s so hilarious,” one commenter said on Douyin.

“It’s extremely ugly. Its designers must have aesthetic defects,” remarked another.

“I almost began to curse it until I realised it only cost 80,000 yuan. Let’s just calm down since it was done on a low budget. We will get used to it after looking at it for a while,” one observer joked.

“Do you think this fairy has thyroid problems? Her neck is so swollen,” quipped another.