Shanghai Daily news

Xujiahui Park will soon be sporting a touch of France with the addition of a copy of the“Source d’Espoir,”a sculpture erected in 1999 in Marseille to celebrate the 2,600th birthday of France’s oldest city.
The statue, a gift from the Marseille government to help inaugurate the Year of France in China, is scheduled to go on public view in May, according to the Shanghai Gardening Architecture (Group) Co, the project’s engineer.
“The replica will be exactly the same as the original statue,”said Zhou Ruwen, a company official.
The“Source d’Espoir,”which means“spring of hope,”is an outline of a tree with water spouting from its base. Sitting in a 240-square-meter pool, the sculpture is 9 meters tall and 6 meters wide.
Zhou said construction has already begun in the park, a large green space bordering Xuhui District’s busiest shopping area.
“The location was decided by the French,”Zhou said.“In their minds, Xujiahui is an intersection of Chinese and Western cultures, which also reflects Shanghai’s openness and acceptance of different cultures.”
Last year, a delegation from the city visited the famous French port for Shanghai Week and gave a 3,000-square-meter Chinese-style garden to the Marseille people.
She said France is working with a Shanghai firm to build the statue here.
The unveiling of the work is a prelude to this year’s Year of France events in Shanghai, during which Marseille will bring performances and other exhibitions to the city, she added.