This line of creatures along the gable of a Chinese Imperial building inside the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, denotes a building of minor importance among the family apartments. The man riding a chicken and the dragon-like mythological creature at the ends are not counted for precedence, only the animals in the middle, here 3, are counted and the count varies from 0 to 10 animals. Only the Imperial Palace has 10.
A practical need for these is as part of a lightning strike prevention system. Modern society has added a metal bar along the roof crests to augment this function.