I WAS A BIT SURPRISED TO SEE THESE CHINESE LIONS [NEAR ASHTOWN RAILWAY STATION]
These stylised guardian lions [Chinese Lions] , known in Chinese as shi or shishi (石獅 shíshī /shrr-shrr/ ‘stone-lions’), sometimes as ‘Foo Dogs’ in English, originating not in China itself, but in Persia. Presented as gifts to the Han court by Persian diplomats, by the sixth century CE they had become popular as guardian representations for the rich and powerful.
