Giant Mao statue in China reportedly torn down days after it was built

Jan. 4, 2016: A 120-foot tall gold-colored statue of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong is surrounded by farmland in Tongxu County in central China's Henan province. According to Chinese state media, businessmen and local villagers contributed nearly $460,000 to build the cement statue. (AP)

A giant, towering and controversial statue of Mao Zedong that appeared in China’s countryside reportedly was removed just days after it was completed.

The 120-foot gold-painted statue, erected in Henan's Tongxu county – a region hit hard by a famine in the 1950s resulting from Mao’s policies – was taken down because the government had not approved it, a Zhushigang village official told the People’s Daily.

A photo circulating on social media purportedly showed the statue being taken apart with a black cloth covering Mao’s head, according to the BBC.

The statue reportedly was built as a tribute to the late Chinese leader, and was believed to have cost nearly $460,000. The funding was provided by local businessman and villagers, the BBC reports.

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