The bull on the Bund

As Shanghai looks to cement its place in the world financial system, the city is grabbing the bull by the horns -- come on, if ever there's a place to make that pun work it's here -- and bringing one of the most iconic images of finance to local shores.

A replica of the famous lower Manhattan bull, which the artist Arturo Di Modica describes as “younger” and “stronger” than its predecessor, will be installed on the Shanghai Bund by the end of April. Arturo Di Modica created both the original bronze “Charging Bull” as well as the Shanghai version.

According to the Wall Street Journal, when asked if he was going to sculpt a larger version of the original for the Bund, Di Modica said that he has no interest in stoking municipal rivalries. 

“It’s not to create some kind of financial fight between Shanghai and New York,” said Di Modica.

“We intend to build a financial center that will serve the real economy,” say Fang Xinghai, director general of financial services for Shanghai’s government. “The bull on the Bund symbolizes that effort.”

The bull is expected to be installed by April 29 and go on public display in front of the newly built financial square on the Bund.

Although the new bull might not be larger than the original, there are some differences. The new version is “leaning to the right instead of the left and reddish compared with the original,” says the WSJ. The Shanghai bull also has a “more menacing” tail, swirling upward in a corkscrew. Exactly what that means we're not sure, but we're pretty certain it won't be long before an image of the two bulls squaring off against each other is put together by newspapers to represent any U.S.-China financial tussle.