Twenty-seven years ago today, on May 25, 1998 (April 30, 1998 lunar calendar), Egypt restored the Sphinx. Sphinx Exhibition New Look Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak presided over a grand ceremony in the western suburbs of Cairo on the evening of the 25th to celebrate the completion of the 10-year restoration of the Sphinx (also known as the "Sphinx"). In front of the Pyramids of Giza, 30 Egyptian men dressed as priests and warriors from the time of ancient Egyptian pharaohs removed the huge white tabernacle covering the Sphinx, and the intertwined starlight and lasers cast a layer of mystery on the Sphinx, which had just been liberated from wooden scaffolding. The Sphinx has successfully undergone "the largest and most authoritative cosmetic surgery" in history, according to a documentary of the restoration project broadcast by Unesco at the scene. The Sphinx, which is known as one of the "Seven Wonders" of the ancient world along with the pyramid, was built in 2610 BC and represents the ancient Egyptian sun god. According to legend, it was specially designed to protect the ancient Egyptian pyramid of Khafre and the surrounding mausoleum. Due to natural factors such as sun exposure and wind and sand, the chest, neck and left front leg of the stone statue were strongly eroded. Although the earliest restoration work dates back to 1400 BC, mistakes in technology and materials in the first six projects put this treasure of human civilization in danger of collapsing. In 1989, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and UNESCO jointly dispatched archaeologists, restorers and sculptors to use the most modern technology to use 12,478 antique bricks at a cost of $2.50 million to save the weathered "Sphinx". The secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities praised the 10 years of hard work that will keep the "Sphinx" stone statue standing for 5,000 years.