In 1997, as Portugal ceded independence to Macao, it left a 20-meter-high statue of the goddess Kwan Yin overlooking the harbor. In this statue, the artist, Cristina Leiria, melded the goddesses of China and Portugal into one figure. It was both the Virgin Mary and Kwan Yin at the same time, symbolizing a fusion of the best and most beautiful from both the East and the West. -- A Galaxy of Immortal Women: The Yin Side of Chinese Civilization