An ancient statue of the wife of China 's first ruler is damaged - after tourists kept rubbing the woman 's exposed breast . Officials have complained the bronze sculpture of Yu The Great 's wife has been worn down and discolored by sightseers constantly fondling the artwork , reports The People 's Daily . The statue , which stands in a gardens in Wuhan , the capital city of central China ’ s Hubei Province , is to honour Yu The Great , who founded China 's first dynasty in 2070 BC . Officials in Wuhan , the capital city of central China ’ s Hubei Province , have accused tourists of damaging a statue of the country 's first leader and his wife by fondling the woman 's exposed breast . The sculpture , which has been in place for ten years , depicts Yu The Great , the founder of China 's first Xia Dynasty in 2070 BC , meeting his wife . Legend says that Yu and his wife were brought together by a nine-tailed fox that lead them to one another . The bronze tells the story of how the leader met his wife , after the couple were supposedly brought together by a mythical nine-tailed fox . Over the decade that the statue has been in place , people have been touching the hand of Yu The Great , the fox 's back , and wife 's chest . While the rest of the statue is black , the colour of the coating applied to protect the metal , the parts that have been touched have worn away to expose the metal underneath . Over the years tourists have kept touching Yu 's hand , the fox 's back , and his wife 's exposed breast - leading to them becoming worn . While the rest of the metallic sculpture is black , the colour of the protective layer which coats the statue , the fox , hand and breast have become worn , exposing the metal underneath . Locals accuse tourists of having a lack of respect for culture , but admit the behaviour is unlikey to change . Yu the Great is thought to have lived between 2,200–2,100 BCE , and is credited with uniting the nine early provinces of China . While little is known about his rule , as his predates the earliest written records by nearly a millennium , he is credited with building an immense system of flood defences in central China . These helped to bring prosperity and stability to the volatile region , and so impressed another emperor that he named Yu as his heir , rather than his own son .
Statue in China , central Wuhan , depicts country 's first ruler and his wife . Tourists fondling her exposed breast has damaged statue , officials say . Legend has it that Yu was lead to wife by a magical nine-tailed fox .