Yesterday was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, commemorated every year on June 4 or -- due to stringent censorship efforts by the Chinese government -- on a date known as May 35.
In memory of this dark day in history, an edited image of the iconic "Tank Man" or "Unknown Protester" photograph went viral on China's social media network, Weibo. The updated photo features a character that's become popular in the Hong Kong harbor region as of late -- an inflatable sculpture known as the giant "Rubber Duck."
According to the International Business Times, the Rubber Duck mash-up was created to spread word about the anniversary while circumventing Chinese internet censors that block phrases like "June 4" and "Tiananmen Square" from being searched on social media. The new picture shows a man facing four massive structures, but instead of the familiar military tanks shown in the original Jeff Widener photo, the armored vehicles have been replaced with images of artist Florentijn Hofman's beloved yellow bird.
The balloon sculpture has caused quite the frenzy in Hong Kong since it arrived last month, as city residents and tourists have gathered en masse to gaze upon it as it floats throughout the harbor. Yet, as a result of the "Tank Man" photo, the words "Big Yellow Duck" became one of many unsearchable phrases on Weibo this week, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Scroll through the slideshow below for more photos of Hofman's large artwork and let us know your thoughts on the Tiananmen Square commemoration in the comments.
