HONGKONG, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Lego rooster made of 220,000 red, white, yellow and green toy bricks will be the centrepiece of a float in Hong Kong's Lunar New Year parade to usher in the Year of the Rooster.
Andy Hung, the territory's only certified Lego professional builder, was commissioned by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to create the two-metre (6.5 ft) tall bird.
"I wanted to use Lego pieces that resonate with people from the East and impress my audience," Hung told Reuters Televison.
The rooster, which took 5 people 1-1/2 months to build, is one of several Lego statues on the float, including a life-sized farmer holding a rake, a tuxedo-clad waiter and a race car driver clutching his helmet.
The night-time parade takes place on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, when 10 floats will light up the streets of Hong Kong's famous Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district.
Hung, a full-time artist with studios in Hong Kong and Beijing, is one of Asia's three certified Lego professionals.
The group comprises adult hobbyists who have turned their passion into a professional activity, Lego says on its website. (Reporting by Joyce Zhou, Writing by Karishma Singh, Editing by Supercars Darren Schuettler)