Zuojiang inclined tower

Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower

synonym

Zuojiang inclined tower generally refers to Zuojiang Guilong inclined tower

Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower, also known as Zuojiang leaning tower, Shuibao tower and waita tower, is located on Aotou mountain island in the middle of Zuojiang River near Dacun, Taiping Town, Jiangzhou District, Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It was built between 1621 and 1629. It is known as one of the "eight leaning towers in the world" for its long history, ingenious construction technology and moving legends.

It is said that Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was built to suppress demons and ward off evil spirits. At first, it was built with three stories. In 1696, it was added with two stories. Now it is a five story octagonal brick tower. Its characteristic is that it was designed by the ancestors according to the natural environment and mechanical principles, and built by man, which condensed the wisdom and wisdom of the ancient working people in the construction technology.

In November 1992, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was declared as a cultural relic protection unit at the county level by the people's Government of Chongzuo County; in July 1994, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was declared as the fourth batch of cultural relic protection units in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region by the people's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region;

In October 2019, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was announced as the eighth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China.

Historical evolution

Zuojiang Guilong pagoda is a geomantic pagoda. The reason why it was built on Aotou mountain is that it was built to suppress demons and ward off evil spirits. Aotou mountain is located at the sharp turning point of Zuojiang river. The turbulent River comes and rolls away. The waves are rough and the whirlpool turns over. It often engulfs the passing boats. It is said that "ten boats turn over the bend and nine boats turn over". The common people thought there was a demon in the river, so they built a tower to control it.

In 1621, Li Youmei, the magistrate of Taiping, built the third floor of the tower. In 1697, Xu Yue, the magistrate of the Qing Dynasty, continued to build two more stories, which became a five story tower.

In 1990, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was developed as a tourist attraction and opened to the outside world.

Cultural relics

Zuojiang Guilong inclined tower is a brick and tile structure, with a bottom diameter of 3.44M, a total height of 23.28m, and a body height of about 18.28m. The body of the tower is octagonal, octagonal and sleeve structure, which is divided into two layers: the inner wall and the outer wall. The inner and outer walls are built with green bricks into spiral stairs, which are twisted anticlockwise until the top, connecting the inner and outer walls. At the bottom of the tower, there are arches on the South and on the West. From the second floor, 9 arched windows are opened from north to west, South to East. The inner wall is a cylinder made of green brick, and the layers are separated by wooden boards. The top of the tower is supported by beam and brake rod. A copper wind chime is hung at each octagon on the top of the tower. When the river breeze blows, the wind chimes. The top is covered with cast iron bowl.

Architectural features

The Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower is built on the Aotou mountain in the middle of the river. It is often impacted by the flood in flood season. In order to prevent the tower from being washed down by the flood, the builders have their own ingenuity and carefully designed it considering the wind, water potential, foundation and other factors in the middle of the river.

The East-West height of the first floor of Zuojiang Guilong tower is 45 bricks, and the West height is 43 bricks. The height difference between the two is 2 bricks. The tower body is inclined to the southwest direction (that is, the direction of flood impact) by 52 ° 16 ′ 30 ″, the tower body is inclined to 4 ° 24 ′ 64 ″, and the horizontal deviation is 1.41 M. Actually, the body of the tower only inclines to the southwest by west, but when you go around the tower by boat, the body of the tower inclines to the viewer visually, so it is called inclined tower. It is famous all over the world because it seems inclined but not inclined, inclined on all sides and not falling.

protective measures

In 1985, the people's Government of Chongzuo County appropriated special funds for the first phase maintenance of Zuojiang Guilong tower.

In November 1992, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was announced as a county-level cultural relic protection unit by Chongzuo County People's government.

In March 1993, the cultural relics team of the Department of culture of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region surveyed and measured the Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower, strengthened and maintained it.

In July 1994, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was announced by the people's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as the fourth batch of cultural relics protection units in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In October 2019, Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower was announced as the eighth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China.

History and culture

It is said that in ancient times, there was a demon dragon in the middle reaches of the Zuojiang river. It was ferocious and ferocious. It often stirred waves at sharp bends, capsized boats and ate people, which made people in the area of Zuojiang panic. A young hunter named Shuibao couldn't bear to see people buried in the belly of the dragon. With his good martial arts, he came to Zuojiang. Under the guidance of the immortal, he killed the demon dragon, eliminated the evil for the people, and restored the peace of Zuojiang. In order to keep in mind the achievements of killing dragons and eliminating pests, local villagers built a pagoda on Jiangxin Island, named Guilong pagoda, also known as Shuibao pagoda. The Zuojiang Guilong pagoda has been damaged by floods for many times, and it is still magnificent. Therefore, there is a saying among the people that "the old pagoda will not be repaired if it is renovated, and the water pagoda will not be revised if it is tilted.".

Cultural relic value

Zuojiang guilongxietao has been built for more than 390 years. Although it has been attacked by floods, wind and sun, brick surface erosion, scars, moss and ferns hidden on it, it still stands in Zuojiang with a strong posture, fully reflecting the brilliant architectural technology of ancient Chinese people.

Zuojiang Guilong tower, together with Huqiu tower in Suzhou, Suizhong tower in Liaoning, Songjiang Pearl Tower in Shanghai, Dangyang tower in Hubei, Pisa Tower in Italy, Kendall tower in Germany and the square tower of parliament building in Britain, is known as the world's eight largest leaning towers, and the only leaning tower in Guangxi. Compared with the seven inclined towers at home and abroad, such as Pisa, the other seven inclined towers are extremely inclined due to geological problems, while Zuojiang Guilong inclined tower was designed by the ancestors according to the natural environment and mechanical principles, and artificially built.

Tourism information

geographical position

Zuojiang Guilong leaning tower is located two kilometers northeast of Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is built on the stone island of Zuojiang -- Aotou peak. It is located in the torrent of Jiwan, and the terrain is breathtaking.

Traffic information

Take Chongzuo No.3 bus to xietakou station and walk 653 meters. As the ancient pagoda is basically in the middle of the river, the ferry can arrive in about two minutes, and the fare is not included in the ticket. There is no ferry in the scenic area. Many places on both sides of the river can have a distant view of Zuojiang Guilong tower.

Ticket information

Ticket price: 5 yuan per person, about 1 hour.

Address: Jiangzhou District, Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Longitude: 107.368156

Latitude: 22.439591

Chinese PinYin : Zuo Jiang Xie Ta