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Mao Zedong, the Communist revolutionary who rhapsodized the Chinese people as “poor and blank” has received the birthday present he probably never dreamed of. He has been commemorated in a manner befitting the excesses of modern-day capitalist China: a statue covered in gold and inlaid with gems that is said to be worth about 100 million renminbi, or $16.5 million.

The 120th anniversary of Mao’s birth takes place on Dec. 26, and the present leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, has said the commemorations should be “solemn, austere and practical.” Mao himself famously said: “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery.”

But apparently China’s foremost revolutionary can be a spectacle of bling. The statue of a seated Mao went on display on Friday in Shenzhen, a commercial city in southern China better known for its raucous nightlife than its spartan revolutionary spirit.

China National Radio said on its website that the figure of Mao — appearing unnervingly slim — was covered in gold, jade and other gemstones, and was the work of more than 20 master craftsmen over eight months. The whole ensemble, including the 110-pound statue of the man and a white marble base, cost about 100 million renminbi to make, according to the craftsmen. The report did not say who sponsored or paid for the work.

“When the gold flashes, it captures the intense interest of the public,” noted the report. No doubt.

The statue went on display at an art and handicrafts show in Shenzhen, but will find a permanent home in Mao’s birthplace, Shaoshan, in Hunan Province.