![Giant pandas have finally come to Vancouver... as public art](https://dpdajlq3ew794.cloudfront.net/20170930024145/Parq-Vancouver_SLOW-by-Zhang-Huan.jpg?format=auto&width=1920)
The tarp has come off downtown Vancouver’s newest public art piece located in front of the main entrance of the new Parq Vancouver casino hotel resort.
A pair of giant pandas are the centrepiece of the roundabout in the Smithe Street extension serving the new resort, which officially opened its doors to the public on Friday night.
![](https://images.dailyhive.com/20170930015230/slow-parq-vancouver-giant-panda-statue-1.jpg)
‘Slow’ public art. (Kenneth Chan / Daily Hive)
Dubbed ‘Slow’, the stainless steel art piece is a larger-than-life-size depiction of two panda bears – a baby bear strolling with its mother. This piece is anything but small; it is roughly five metres long, three metres high, and four metres wide.
Chinese artist Zhang Huan, the designer of the art piece, is well known for using stainless steel as a primary material for his statue designs.
![](https://images.dailyhive.com/20170930015214/slow-parq-vancouver-giant-panda-statue-2.jpg)
‘Slow’ public art. (Kenneth Chan / Daily Hive)
According to a release, Huan’s pandas are “meant to eulogize eternal maternity and family while expressing expectations of a future, and expresses the artist’s understanding of human nature and his thoughts on love and eternity.”
The art piece was funded by the resort and chosen by a selection committee comprised of members from the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Institute of Asian Art, the Rennie Collection, and the Contemporary Art Gallery.