To the east of the 17 Arch Bridge stands a gilt bronze ox cast in 1755. It is said that in ancient times, ox used to be a symbol of flood control. More than 4,000 years ago in the Xia Dynasty, whenever flood was brought under control, people put an iron ox in the riverbed. In the Tang Dynasty, instead of putting an iron ox in the riverbed, people placed it by the bank of the river. Qing Emperor Qianlong followed the Tang example, and a gilt bronze ox was placed east of Kunming Lake.
