Giant Chinese Zodiac Sculptures Are Turning Heads in Boston 

In this Wednesday, April 27, 2016 photo, four of 12 gigantic bronze animal heads representing the signs of the Zodiac by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei stand in a circle on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

BOSTON (AP) — A dozen giant bronze animal heads representing the signs of the Chinese zodiac in downtown Boston are stopping people in their tracks and sparking conversations.

And that’s exactly what they are intended to do.

The project by contemporary Chinese artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei is the latest in a series of outdoor public art projects on the Rose Kennedy Greenway meant to delight, awe and educate.

Lucas Cowan, the public art curator of the Greenway Conservancy, says they are replicas of smaller sculptures stolen from an imperial Chinese palace in 1860.

Even as workers put the finishing touches on the exhibit earlier this week, dozens of people stopped to take pictures or just gaze up at the detailed sculptures.