Aang Memorial Island

Aang Memorial Island is a small island located in Yue Bay. It features a massive statue of Avatar Aang that was commissioned by the Fire Nation some time after the end of the Hundred Year War for display in Republic City, where it stands as a symbol of peace and goodwill. The statue's pedestal houses a museum which holds the history of the past Avatars.

History
This island was created to honor the memory of Avatar Aang, who had played a pivotal role in restoring peace and balance to the world by ending the Hundred Year War and creating the United Republic of Nations.

During 170 ASC, after Korra aided Tarrlok and his task force with an assault on an Equalists training base, she publicly challenged the Equalist leader, Amon, to a duel on Aang Memorial Island at midnight. When the clock on the island struck midnight, Amon was not there. Korra eventually gave up the wait, believing Amon had not accepted her challenge. However, as she was leaving, she was assaulted and dragged into the museum underneath the statue by several Equalists. Korra managed to fight some of them off by raising part of the ground with her earthbending, but she was soon overpowered by their numbers and immobilized by chi blockers. When the Avatar regained consciousness, Amon emerged from the shadows and told her that he had a plan that would eradicate the world of benders and that he was saving her for last. After Amon knocked Korra unconscious, she had a vision of Avatar Aang for the first time.



After the Equalists attacked Republic City, they vandalized Aang's statue by propping a giant mask similar to the one worn by Amon onto it, as well as hanging Equalist banners from the statue's staff. Later, when the Equalists were using their biplanes to destroy the United Forces' battleships, General Iroh crashed one of the biplanes into the statue's head, knocking off the mask and causing it to fall into the bay.

Roughly a year later, the Dark Avatar, Unalaq, pulled the statue of Aang off its socket and threw it in the bay.

Avatar Aang Memorial Statue


An enormous metal statue is located on a small island off the shores of Republic City. It depicts a teenage Aang dressed in traditional Air Nomad attire, with the accompanying necklace he wore when Fire Lord Zuko announced the war's end at his coronation. The figure holds a staff with its left hand with the airbending symbol at the upper end, and its left foot rests on a slightly higher surface in the form of a lotus flower. The pedestal on which its other foot stands is an octagon with an upturned tip at each vertex surrounded by railings, leaving an opening at the back of the sculpture, where a paifang gate connects the pedestal with a road linking the island to a dock.

Museum


A museum dedicated to the Avatar is located in the base of the monument. Inside, numerous relics from past Avatars can be enjoyed and studied by the public. A large clock hangs directly above the entrance.

Trivia



 * Aang's statue and its role as a symbol of peace between the four nations resemble the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States that was constructed to commemorate the centennial of American independence.
 * When Amon captured Korra on the island and threatened to remove her bending, he interestingly did so in a museum dedicated to the importance of the Avatars themselves.
 * On the outer ring of the clock are the Chinese numerals one to twelve, indicating the hours. The inner ring is inscribed with unknown characters written in the archaic Seal Script form.
 * Aang's statue is the fifth monument shown to be dedicated to a single Avatar, the first being Avatar Kyoshi's statue on Kyoshi Island, the second being Roku's in the sanctuary at the Fire Temple, and the third and fourth being Yangchen's statues in the Eastern and Western Air Temples.
 * At one point, the creators toyed with the idea that Toph Beifong created the giant metal statue, due to the artistry she displayed throughout the first series.