Singapore‘s Merlion is a mythical beast (that’s part mermaid, part lion) — frozen in time in the shape of an eight-meter tall statue – who is supposed to keep watch over the city’s waters and bring wealth and good fortune to its citizens.

As of March, though, the Merlion will play a entirely different role when its structure is transformed into a hotel as part of this year’s Singapore Biennale.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, work on the project will start on February 7 and the “Merlion Hotel” will be open for overnight stays from March 9 until May 15.

The statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro was reinaugurated Wednesday after a renovation costing four million dollars.

The renovation of the statue was financed by Brazilian mining giant Vale and the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Rio.

The Christ the Redeemer statue, which has towered over the city for nearly 80 years, is located at the peak of the Corcovado mountain overlooking the city.

Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment and jeweler Ginza Tanaka have made this gold Mickey Mouse statue as part of a campaign to promote the Blu-ray DVD release of “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.”

The 12-cm-tall, 1-kg statue, which is valued at 3.23 million yen ($31,000) will be displayed in Tanaka’s Ginza store through April 29, and then tour Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sendai – Via fareastgizmos

A wooden sculpture of the supreme Buddha sold for more than 14.3 million dollars in New York on Tuesday, far exceeding pre-sale estimates and setting a new record for a work of Japanese art.

The 800-year-old depiction of the Dainichi Nyorai, attributed to the sculptor Unkei, was bought by the Japanese department store chain Mitsukoshi, shattering the pre-sale estimates for the work of 1.5 to 2.5 million dollars.

The record price “is a testament to the extreme importance and beauty of this supreme Buddha, and elevates Japanese art to a new record level,” said Katsura Yamaguchi, Christie’s director of Japanese and Korean Art.