Copycats of Old Summer Palace Animal Heads Displayed on Taiyuan Street

A photo taken on April 25, 2015, shows copies of 12 Yuanmingyuan animal head sculptures spraying water on the street in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

A photo taken on April 25, 2015, shows copies of 12 Yuanmingyuan animal head sculptures spraying water on the street in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

A photo taken on April 25, 2015, shows copies of 12 Yuanmingyuan animal head sculptures spraying water on the street in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

A photo taken on April 25, 2015, shows copies of 12 Yuanmingyuan animal head sculptures spraying water on the street in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

A photo taken on April 25, 2015, shows copies of 12 Yuanmingyuan animal head sculptures spraying water on the street in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

Copies of 12 Yuanmingyuan animal head sculptures spraying water appear on the street in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

Twelve bronze animal head figures were looted from Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace, when the site was ransacked by French and British troops in 1860.

By the end of 2014, the heads of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, horse, monkey, and pig had been brought back to the Chinese mainland. The dragon head is reportedly in Taiwan, while the heads of snake, sheep, rooster, and dog still remain missing.

Supposedly designed by Guiseppe Castiglione for the Qianlong Emperor, the figures were located at the Haiyantang area of the palace surrounding a clock fountain. The statues would spew water to indicate the time.