Photo: Screenshot from media reports

An "Awakening Lion" lantern at a park in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, with its drooping eyelids caused by a power outage, has been teased by netizens as resembling "a sleep-deprived office worker." Responding in the voice of the lion, the park said, "I was caught napping - I'll widen my eyes and be on duty with full energy."

With the Chinese Spring Festival fast approaching, Guangzhou's Yuexiu Park has crafted a Spring Festival lantern show, installing a giant "Awakening Lion" lantern at its main entrance, dometic media outlet The Paper reported.

The park previously introduced the lantern set named "The Majestic Lion Awakens at the Gate," describing it as follows: "Perched atop the gateway stands a 20-meter-tall lion head, its gilded eyes blinking vividly, as if about to leap into action in the next moment."

However, some local residents posted on social media that the lantern's drooping eyelids made it look listless - a stark contrast to the vibrant image promoted by the park, the report said.

The transformation of the "awake lion" into a "sleeping lion" quickly sparked widespread discussion online. Some netizens joked that the lion seemed to "carry a whiff of the office grind" and suggested letting it rest a while longer. Others created memes comparing the two states, saying it mirrored the contrast between office workers' on-duty and post-holiday moods. 

A park staff member explained that the lantern's design aligns with the renderings, noting that its eyelids were designed to move and blink when lit, The Paper reported.

During a previous test run, a power outage left the eyelids drooping and the issue went unnoticed - making the lion appear half-asleep, the staff member said, adding that during a subsequent test, the lion's eyes were adjusted to an open position and the update was reported on the park's official WeChat account.

The park also released a lighthearted "work pledge" in the name of the napping lion. "I sneaked a nap at work today and got caught before I could even open my eyes," the pledge read. Mimicking the lion's tone, the park added, " I hereby vow to 'reboot' immediately, widen my eyes, and serve with full spirits - no slacking off whatsoever..."



Global Times