Bell tower

Bell tower

The bell tower is one of the representative works of modern western neoclassical architecture in Guangzhou, commonly known as the bell tower. The sound of the bell is so clear that it can be heard even in Fangcun. The building was designed by American architects in 1916. The bell tower is 31.85 meters high. The main building materials are imported from the United States. In 1684, the Qing government officially announced the opening up of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces as the main trading places, and set up four customs in Guangzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningbo and Yuntaishan to open foreign trade. After the Qing government changed the four port trade to one port trade in Guangzhou for 83 years. This customs building and the thirteen lines farther away are good proof.

Introduction to scenic spots

The deepest impression left by the "bell tower" to the public is the ancient bell on its head. Mr. Lu said that the big bell has been ringing every 15 minutes for decades, and a piece of music, the British song Westminster, has been playing for many years. For old Guangzhou, who used to live in Changdi, the bell of the bell tower is the timer of daily life. Because there were very few people in Guangzhou who had watches and clocks at home. In those days, besides Aiqun building, the bell tower was the tallest building on the long dike. In addition, the Pearl River is wider than it is now, and the bell can be heard clearly several miles away. Many people even regard the bell as a signal for dating.

The ringing of the clock lasted until the 1980s. Because residents thought that ringing the clock at night would affect their rest, the clock would only tell the time in the daytime. Later, everyone had a watch, and now it doesn't even ring in the daytime.

historical origin

The "big bell tower" has a total of five floors, including the basement. It is designed by British architect David dick in the style of European classical architecture. The top bell tower is a dome, 13 meters high, with two columns on each side and two TASI poles on each side. The "big bell tower" of Guangdong Customs is the first bell tower in the domestic customs. After that, many big cities have cloned it one after another, and the European style bell tower has finally become a distinctive historical symbol of Chinese customs.

When it comes to the reason why the "bell tower" created the European style, it turns out that there is still an "ancient" period. Guangdong Customs, founded in 1685 during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty, is one of the first four customs in China. During the second Opium War in 1859, when the customs affairs stopped, the Qing government hired three foreigners as "tax assistants" of the tax department, and established the new Guangdong Haiguan. At that time, the tax department worked in a two-story bungalow in Changdi. Later, due to disrepair, the "big bell tower" was built next to the office space in 1913. After the building was completed in 1916, the foreign tax department moved into the building to work.

As a matter of fact, since many of the Qing government's reparations were guaranteed by customs duties, foreigners had always controlled the customs operation as the General Revenue Department. The construction of the bell tower was also in the charge of the Engineering Department of the General Revenue Department, which was designed and presided over by foreigners. From the inside out, it naturally took on a strong European style.

Architectural structure

Floor area of the bell tower

With a total construction area of 4044 square meters and a building height of 31.85 meters, it was the landmark of Guangzhou business center at that time. The building cost 300000 silver yuan, while the cost of ordinary houses at that time was only a few hundred silver yuan.

The vicissitudes of the clock tower

After 90 years of vicissitudes, but never too much damage. Mr. LV told us that the building materials of the "big bell tower" are the best. The whole building is of reinforced concrete structure and is based on large pieces of gneiss. Some people jokingly said: "500 pounds of explosives can't blow through!"

The appearance of the bell tower

The bell tower on the top floor has a building area of 62 square meters, which is divided into two floors. The lower floor is the bell room, in which there are five copper pendants of different calibres; the upper floor is the bell room, and on each side there are outward round clock faces with a diameter of 2.5 meters, which are bright day and night. The clock was made in England in 1915 and is still intact due to its careful maintenance.

Speaking of the music of the hour report, there is also a small episode. Mr. Lu said that during the "Cultural Revolution" period, there were constant movements all over the country. Although the "big bell tower" was not damaged, the British music that was played on time was also forced to become "Oriental red". It was not until the end of the "Cultural Revolution" that a master was specially invited from Shanghai to change the music back to foreign music.

The bell tower has been rated as a key cultural relic protection unit in China.

Traffic information

Bus route: 238, 538 to the South Building terminal (Cultural Park Station), about 10 minutes walk west

Address: Gulou West Street, Yaodu District, Linfen City, Shanxi Province

Longitude: 111.51331917918

Latitude: 36.082747798482

Chinese PinYin : Da Zhong Lou