An awakening ceremony July 29 for two new Fu Dog statues will honor Bellevue's 30-year sister city relationship with Hualien, Taiwan.
The ceremony will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 29 at City Hall, including an “awakening” ceremony for the Fu Dogs, lion dancing, a martial arts demonstration, musical performances, folk dancing and Taiko drumming, according to a city of Bellevue press release. The public is invited to attend.
Government and business leaders from Taiwan will attend the ceremony. The marble Fu Dogs were a gift from Hualien in 2010. Installation was completed two weeks ago.
“The dedication ceremony is a chance for the community to celebrate our special sister city relationship with Hualien,” said Mayor Conrad Lee, who was born in China, in a prepared statement. “More than 30 percent of Bellevue residents were born outside the United States and the largest nationality are Chinese. These beautiful statues symbolize our city’s diversity and the importance of our international friendships.”
The Fu Dogs, also known as Guardian Lions, replace a single “bachelor” dog that stood guard near the entrance to city hall since 2006, according to a city press release. Hualien also gave Bellevue a statue of Guan Yin, which is in City Hall Plaza, in sympathy for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Bellevue has three other sister cities: Kladno, Czech Republic; Liepaja, Latvia; and Yao, Japan.
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