Recently, an international student photographed a Leizhou Stone Dog statue at the Cairns Botanic Gardens in Australia and shared the photo on social media, bringing unexpected attention to this statue in the Southern Hemisphere.
The poster asked curiously: "Are stone lions in Zhanjiang really shaped like this?" Netizens replied by posting photos, explaining that it is Leizhou Stone Dog, a national intangible cultural heritage item in China.
(Photo: Xiaohongshu screenshot)
Cairns is Zhanjiang's first international sister city. Over the past 22 years, the two cities have carried out diverse exchanges including joint garden construction and cultural visits.
Sino-Australian Friendship Garden inaugurated in Zhanjiang (Photo: Zhanjiang Municipal Bureau of Foreign Affairs)
Building on this partnership, Zhanjiang has steadily expanded its network of international sister cities. The number of sister cities stood at 22 in 2024 and rose to 27 in 2025. With the addition of Strathfield, Australia, in August this year, Zhanjiang now has 28 sister cities across 16 countries.
Author | Deng Anqi
