Long Ma is one of the most magnificent mechanical art installations ever created. This dragon’s head on a horse’s body is state-of-the-art in terms of its dimensions, aesthetics, craftmanship and technology: it measures 18 meters in length and 5 meters in width. When rearing up on its hind legs, the construction reaches a height of 12 meters, and it weighs a total of 50 tons. Its body is carved from ‘accoya wood’, an anticorrosive wood type. It features, among others, built-in mechanical structures, hydraulic transmissions and a control system using electrical sensors. Long Ma can run and gallop, spit fire and water, breathe out smoke and shut its eyes, shake its ears and stick its tongue out, making it seem almost lifelike. It’s able to engage in lively and compelling interactions with the audience. Long Ma is a symbol of the Chinese culture: the dragon represents power, the horse symbolizes diligence, sincerity and vitality. Long Ma embodies the Chinese people’s unremitting efforts towards self-improvement, their capacity for virtuousness, concerted efforts, unwavering enterprising spirit, positive ethos and lofty moral integrity.

The Chinese pavilion perched on the back of ‘Long Ma’ signifies the realization of the ‘Chinese dream’.