Seven unusual cats of Shantang Street (12 photos + 1 video)

Oh, these cats are complicated creatures, even though they pretend to be soft and fluffy. When necessary, they can stand up for themselves and for others. And the Chinese are well aware of this.





Thanks to a play on words, seven stone cats guard this ancient canal-side street.



Shantang

Hidden among the small shops and cozy temples of this coastal alley are seven stone sculptures with different facial expressions. Their task is to guard the bridges. The sculptures are known as the seven blue cats of Shantang Jie, and their existence is explained as a funny play on words in Mandarin.





Shantang Jie (Shangtang Street) is known for being seven li (Chinese miles) long (li was 300 or 360 steps, and the standardized metric value is 500 meters), which looks and sounds similar to the other li that form part of the cat breed's name.

In honor of this play on words, seven cats, each approximately 1.20 meters high, were carved from stone and installed at the intersection of the ancient canal bridges on the Shantang side.



Chinese cat Li Hua

Each of the seven cats represents one form of luck. And according to this they were given different expressions. The virtuoso cat can be found at Shantang Bridge, wealth at Tonggui Bridge, learning at Xing Bridge, happiness at Caiyun Bridge, healthy life at Puji Bridge, blessed fortune at Wangshan Bridge, and happy occasion at Xishanmiao Temple Bridge.



Finding all these cats is no easy task these days, as many of them are hidden behind stalls, found in wild vegetation, or used by practical traders to prop up window shutters while street hawkers sell their wares on this quaint side street of the ancient city. . But anything is possible if you try. After all, when else will you be able to get not just luck, but sevenfold luck, and even in the form of cats?

1. Virtuoso



2. Wealth



3. Training



4. Happiness



5. Healthy life



6. Blessed Destiny



7. Happy accident