The ice sculpture of Yang Guifei now has a left breast significantly smaller than the right one after being groped by tourists. (Photo : Internet Photo)
An ice sculpture of Yang Guifei has been groped several times, causing its left breast to become significantly smaller than its right one.
The ice sculpture was housed in an ice sculpture exhibition in Changsha, Hunan Province. Most of the groping was done by tourists during the National Day holiday, also known as "Golden Week," which took place from Oct. 1-7, according to U.S.-based news source Duowei News.
The ice sculpture of Yang was placed at the entrance of the exhibition. According to an exhibition spokesperson surnamed Wu, the left breast of the ice sculpture became noticeably smaller than the right, with white layers underneath the surface resulting from the heat of visitors hands.
Wu said that the ice sculptures were delivered from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, famous for its annual festival for ice sculpture. "Once the ice sculptures are damaged, we have to find a new block of ice and a sculptor to do them again," added Wu.
The event organizer is considering publishing guidelines to control visitor behavior.
This is not the first case of tourist misbehavior in China, with the country's nationals notorious for mischief in tourist spots at home and abroad.
Still involving Yang Guifei, several people posted photos of themselves cupping the breast of a marble statue of Yang in May. One man who posted such a photo has been added to a blacklist set up by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) in May, effectively banning him from entering tourist sites for 10 years.
The black list includes three other people.
In September, the Palace Museum reported a 300-year-old ceremonial copper vessel dating back to the Ming Dynasty that was vandalized by a couple who wrote their names encased in a heart. The museum cited the lack of punishment for such an offense.
The CNTA said in April that it will punish Chinese tourists who are found to have misbehaved abroad upon their return home.
Fascination with Yang Guifei, the famed consort of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, has increased recently, with actress Fan Bingbing depicting her in the historical film "Lady of the Dynasty."
