A gold-plated silver Garuda is regarded as the symbol of Yunnan.
The Garuda with its outstretched wings and five crystal beads inlaid in the tail feathers is unique and exquisite. According to local legend, the Garuda was dispatched by Buddha to control floods in the Dali State during the 10th and 13th centuries and has been regarded as the local guardian bird since.
Discovered in the major pagoda of Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan province in 1978, the gold-plated silver Garuda is a treasure from the Yunnan Provincial Museum.