Originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall of the Yuanmingyuan. The snake head bronze statue represents the time of the Si (9am to 11pm) and is one of the twelve zodiac bronze statues. It was designed by European missionary, Italian Lang Shining, supervised by French Jiang Youren, and produced by Qing court craftsmen. The bronze statue of a snake's head symbolizes wisdom and prudence, and is an important symbol in Chinese culture. In 1860, the Anglo French coalition invaded China and set fire to the Yuanmingyuan, causing the snake headed bronze statue to begin to be lost overseas. Until now, the whereabouts of the snake head bronze statue are still unknown. Like several other animal heads, its fate has become a symbol of the loss of cultural relics overseas from the Yuanmingyuan and a witness to the loss of Chinese cultural heritage.

The snake in the Chinese zodiac symbolizes wisdom, prudence, and mystery. In traditional Chinese zodiac culture, the twelve earthly branches corresponding to snakes are "Si", hence also known as "Si Snake". In Chinese culture, there are complex and ever-changing symbols of both negative cunning and toxicity, as well as positive wisdom and healing power. In the legends of the twelve zodiac animals, snakes appear in their clever and agile form. According to legend, in the competition for selecting zodiac animals, snakes successfully obtained their position in the zodiac through their wisdom and strategy. In Chinese culture, the Year of the Snake is often considered a year that requires caution, but it is also seen as a period full of changes and opportunities.