As for the fourth lion from the south direction of the bridge, the tour guides always advise visitors to stay away, not to touch or take pictures with it.
The Forbidden City, also known as the Ancient Palace, in Beijing, China was once the living and working place of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The building is 720,000 square meters wide and has a view of the river (Kim Thuy river), leaning against the mountain (Van Nien mountain).
In which, Kim Thuy river is actually a canal, and Van Nien mountain is also an artificial product, made from river excavated soil, bricks and stones from the old Nguyen palace. Hong Kieu section is a stone arch bridge spanning a section of the Kim Thuy River, decorated extremely magnificently, finely sculpted. On both sides of the bridge are 34 lively stone lions, each with a standing posture, completely different facial expressions. 
It can be said that Doan Hong Kieu is the leading construction in the bridges inside the Forbidden City, so visitors love to take pictures here. Although visitors can comfortably come close to see other stone lions, but for the 4th lion from the south direction of the bridge, the tour guides always recommend to stay away, do not touch your hands. enter or take a picture with it. It is believed that this sculpture brings bad luck to visitors, so no one wants to get close, even many people refuse to walk across the bridge. So what makes this stone lion so scary? How true is this fantasy story? The stone lion on Duan Hongqiao Bridge Even when viewed with the naked eye, people can also feel the difference of the 4th lion on the bridge. While the rest of the stone lions all stand on all fours, this statue alone depicts the animal sitting on its hind legs, with one leg holding its head and one leg hugging its crotch. 
This is the only lion that has a sitting posture with two legs, one leg holding the head and the other holding the lower body like a person in pain. According to historical records, the special stone lion on Doan Hong Kieu Bridge is related to King Thanh Tuyen Tong (1782 – 1850), the era of Dao Quang, the 8th emperor of the Qing dynasty. King Dao Quang had a very smart son, Prince Dich Vi, although Thanh Tuyen Tong put a lot of expectations on his son, Prince Dich Vi, who loved freedom, was not subject to discipline, so he clearly showed it. stubbornness. When the school teacher advised the prince to read hard to become a wise king in the future, Prince Yi Wei defiantly said: “When I become emperor, I will execute you first!” Dich Vi’s insolent words soon reached the emperor’s ears, making Thanh Tuyen Tong extremely angry, the king was not dead, but I wanted to become emperor, I also wanted to kill you! King Dao Quang could not control his anger and threw a terrible kick between Yi Wei’s legs, causing the prince to scream in pain. A few days later, Prince Yi Wei also died from his wounds. The death of his son made King Dao Quang extremely regretful and regretful. Legend has it that not long after, the king passed by Duan Hongqiao bridge, saw a stone lion on the bridge with a tragic posture identical to that of Prince Dich Wei before his death. red on the stone lion so that no one can see it again. Expert explanation The authenticity of the story of Dao Quang Emperor seeing a stone lion has never been confirmed, however, experts have also made their own comments about the strange posture of the stone lion on Duan Hongqiao Bridge. In the historical book “Han Shu”, it is recorded that the lion appeared in China as a tribute originating from the Western Region, due to the small number of tributes, there were only emperors, court officials or princes. just got a chance to see them. For the common man or the craftsman, the lion is a strange animal. The stone lion statues born from the hand-crafted hands of folk artists are also very subjective and creative, mainly combining the characteristics of cats, tigers and other animals, so there are no stone lion statues. the majesty and majesty of lions in reality. 
The legend of the stone lion has helped the Forbidden City attract many tourists. Photo: Sohu. The construction of Doan Hong Kieu bridge itself has not been able to determine the construction time. According to China News, the bridge may have appeared before the Ming Dynasty and was built during the Yuan Dynasty. Stone carving expert Luu Ve Dong said: “The stone carvings under the Nguyen Dynasty are very vivid, the stone lions of this period have a large head and small waist, so the sitting posture resembles a frog.” After Confucianism flourished under the Ming Dynasty, creativity waned significantly, the new lion gradually took on the unified shape of a majestic, fierce and tame posture as commonly seen today. At this time, the unique and unconventional sculptures from the previous period easily became the inspiration for thrilling stories handed down in folklore. Today, like the anecdote of the wells, the cry of the night in the Forbidden City, although the accuracy of the events surrounding the unlucky stone lion has not been confirmed, the “half-real and half-imaginary” legends “Like this every year, it is still helping to attract millions of tourists to visit and admire the palace complex of the Forbidden City.
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