Zhenhai TowerGuangzhou Museum
The Zhenhai Tower, perched on top of Guangzhou's Yuexiu Mountain, exudes grandeur and solemnity. Its rectangular structure rises up in five tiers, each smaller than the previous one, with flying eaves and upturned corners. With its majestic iron-red walls and green tiles, it looks like a tower from the front, but a pagoda from the side. It is an example of a rare, multi-tiered-tower style of ancient Chinese architecture, and is one of the most prominent sites in Lingnan.
It's currently the only well-known historical and cultural tower in South China. The tower was first built in 1380. Over its more than six centuries of existence, it has been rebuilt and renovated several times. It is known as the Five-Storied Pagoda and has long served as a prominent symbol of Guangzhou, and a cultural attraction.
Zhenhai TowerGuangzhou Museum
Its functions include military defense, maritime navigation, and leisure activities, including climbing the tower. It is one of Jiangnan's four famous towers, alongside the Yellow Crane Tower, Yueyang Tower, and the Prince Teng Pavilion. Since its transformation into the Guangzhou Museum in the late 1920s, the Zhenhai Tower has showcased its unique charm as a public cultural venue for the collection, exhibition, and research of historical artifacts.
Today, the tower has been designated a protected national cultural heritage site, allowing it to continue its mission of cultural dissemination. The Guangzhou Museum is moving to a new site and, once there, the tower will continue to greet visitors from all over the world in a relaxed environment with a fresh new appearance.
Symbol of Guangzhou—the City of Rams
In 1380, the Marquis of Yongjia, Zhu Liangzu, merged the three cities that make up Guangzhou—East, West, and Zi—and built a northern city wall spanning over 2560m. The Zhenhai Tower, also known as the Five-Storied Pagoda, was built at the wall's highest point, on Yuexiu Mountain.
Map of Guangzhou's city blocks in the Qing DynastyGuangzhou Museum
This magnificent tower, known as the symbol of Guangzhou, frequently appeared in local chronicles of Guangdong Province during the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as travelogues and artworks by Westerners visiting China. This map depicts the layout of city blocks in Guangzhou's inner city during the Qing Dynasty, including city walls, gate towers, government offices, temples, pagodas, bridges, streets, neighborhoods, and more.
Glass painting of Guangzhou's commercial district (Late 18th to early 19th century)Guangzhou Museum
The Zhenhai Tower is shown as a famous landmark on Yuexiu Mountain to the north of the city.
Bill issued by the Guangdong Provincial Bank featuring an image of the Zhenhai TowerGuangzhou Museum
As a result of its prominent location in Guangzhou, and its rich historical and cultural significance, the Zhenhai Tower frequently appeared as a city emblem on coins, bills, certificates, and newspapers. The image shows a five yuan bill issued by the Guangdong Provincial Bank in 1918, featuring an image of Zhenhai Tower.
Badge of the Guangdong Provincial Government's Civil Affairs Department bearing an image of the Zhenhai TowerGuangzhou Museum
During the Republic of China period, the Guangdong Provincial Government's Civil Affairs Department designed a badge with a decorative motif depicting the Zhenhai Tower, as well as the Baiyun Mountain and Pearl River.
Key Strategic Location
It's said that those who vie for cities must vie for mountains, and those who vie for mountains must vie for towers. The Zhenhai Tower, nestled in a strategically advantageous position among mountains and rivers, has long been a sought-after battleground. The tower is a critical defensive stronghold situated at the top of the Yuexiu Mountain to the north, at the highest point of the city wall, which is fortified with towers and strategically placed defensive cannons.
Photograph of the Zhenhai Tower in 1860 (1860-04)Guangzhou Museum
In 1857, Anglo-French forces occupied Guangzhou and took control of the strategically important Zhenhai Tower. In the image, an armed soldier from the allied forces is stationed by the city wall on the eastern side of the tower, in front of an umbrella-shaped sentry post made from wood and leaves. This is the earliest photograph of the Zhenhai Tower.
Photograph of the Zhenhai Tower and Guangzhou's northern city wall (Late 1800s or early 1900s)Guangzhou Museum
Photograph of the Zhenhai Tower and Guangzhou's northern city wall (late 1800s or early 1900s)
Postcard of the Zhenhai Tower during the Sino-Japanese WarGuangzhou Museum
This is a postcard from the Sino-Japanese War era with the caption "Guangdong Guanyin Mountain Five-Story Pagoda, May 15, Showa 14. Permit Granted by the Guangdong Military Police." "Showa 14" refers to the year 1940, according to the calendar used in the time of the Japanese Emperor Showa.
Scenic Landmark
Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the lofty Zhenhai Tower, Guangzhou's tallest structure, has been hailed as having the finest view of the city. Literati and scholars would gather to climb the tower and gaze into the distance, enjoying a panoramic view of the city. During the Qing Dynasty, it was one of the Eight Scenic Spots of the City of Rams (a nickname for Guangzhou). Known as the Zhenhai Tiered Tower, it was described as the best spectacle in the Lingnan region.
Illustration of the Zhenhai Tower on Yuexiu Mountain in A Collection of Historical Records of the City of RamsGuangzhou Museum
At the beginning of A Collection of Historical Records of the City of Rams—compiled by Qiu Juchuan in the eleventh year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1806)—is an illustration of the Eight Scenic Spots of the City of Rams, one of which was the Zhenhai Tower. It shows the Zhenhai Tower standing on the summit of the Yuexiu Mountain, overlooking the vast expanse of the sea, billowing white clouds, and lush forests, as visitors bustle about.
Zhenhai Tower in an export painting from CantonGuangzhou Museum
However, the image's depiction of the Zhenhai Tower, with its nearly square shape and exterior corridors made entirely of wood, is not historically accurate. This is a landscape drawing rather than an architectural diagram, and the ancient artists depicted it in an impressionistic rather than realistic style. The tower, along with the other Eight Scenic Spots of the City of Rams, was a popular subject for Guangzhou's export landscape paintings during the Qing Dynasty.
The Zhenhai Tower in the early years of the Republic of ChinaGuangzhou Museum
The number of people ascending from the foot of the mountain to the Zhenhai Tower gradually increased.
Twilight at Zhenhai Tower (1926) by Gao JianfuGuangzhou Museum
Gao Jianfu created Twilight at Zhenhai Tower, a Chinese ink and color painting on paper, in 1926.
Radiance of Cultural Heritage
In the late 1920s, the Zhenhai Tower was converted into the Guangzhou Municipal Museum, which was later renamed the Guangzhou Museum. One of China's first museums, it has now been open for more than 80 years. Since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, and particularly during the 30 years of economic reform and opening up, the Guangzhou Museum has made significant strides, becoming an important window for promoting Lingnan culture.
The Guangzhou Municipal Museum was the first museum in South China and one of the earliest museums in China.
After it opened in 1929, the Guangzhou Municipal Museum displayed various items inside the Zhenhai Tower. The museum's layout included geological maps and Earth models on the first floor; plant, animal, and mineral specimens on the second and third floors; ancient artifacts and artworks on the fourth floor; and revolutionary memorabilia, international cultural and historical materials, as well as photographs and a statue of President Sun Yat-sen, and materials in his handwriting, on the fifth floor.
Guangzhou Museum in the early 1950s (then People's Museum of Guangzhou)Guangzhou Museum
In the early 1950s, the government changed the name of the Guangzhou Municipal Museum to the Guangzhou People's Museum, and cypress trees were planted on the lawn in front of the Zhenhai Tower.
Premier Zhou Enlai, Marshal He Long, and Premier Kim Il-Sung of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea pose in front of the Guangzhou MuseumGuangzhou Museum
On November 28, 1958, Premier Zhou Enlai and Marshal He Long accompanied the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Premier Kim Il-Sung to the Guangzhou Museum.
Renowned British scholar Joseph Needham visiting the Guangzhou MuseumGuangzhou Museum
In May 1978, Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, a renowned British scholar and the author of Science and Civilisation in China, visited the Guangzhou Museum.
The Guangzhou Museum in 1985 (1985)Guangzhou Museum
In July 1985, the fourth and fifth floors of the Guangzhou People's Museum hosted the Exhibition of Artifacts Unearthed from the Zeng Hou Yi Tomb in the Warring States Period of Hubei Province, in partnership with the Hubei Provincial Museum.
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