A smoke-snorting, fiery Dragon-Horse began performing at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin New Area on Saturday for a spectacular engagement through Feb 6.

The yellow animatronic beast was created in 2014 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France. Long Ma Jing Shen (Spirit of the Dragon-Horse), is 12 m (13 yd) tall, 18 m (20 yd) long, and weighs 50 tons. It consists of a dragon head and horse body, as China and France knotted ties in the Year of the Dragon and their 50th anniversary was in the Year of the Horse. 

Not only can it run, leap, bend, and retreat, it also undertakes difficult moves like blinking, turning its neck and ears, shaking its tail, puffing fire, and emitting smoke.

Long Ma Jing Shen (Spirit of the Dragon-Horse) [Photo by Zhu Xi / Wechat account: zhizhuxia0756]

The moves and expressions are all provided by a word-leading Euro 4 engine and mechanical automated control system, and result from collaborations among 15 people.

The installation was designed and manufactured by WINLAND Creative Foundation of Beijing and Nantes-based production company La Machine, and is thus a mix of traditional Chinese culture and exquisite French manufacture.

It has appeared in Nantes and Calais, France; Ottawa in Canada; and Xi'an, and Macao as an envoy of Chinese culture, and now again in that role by meeting the public during Spring Festival.

In addition, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has added 3,000 parking spots to facilitate motorists. The parking lot now can accommodate 12,000 vehicles.