Chaozhou Guangji Tower

Chaozhou, a national historical and cultural city, is home to tangible cultural heritage represented by Guangji Bridge, Kaiyuan Temple, Hanwengong Temple, and Jilue Huang Temple, as well as intangible cultural heritage represented by Chaozhou music, Chaozhou opera, Chaozhou embroidery, and Chaozhou woodcarving. The Guangji Gate Tower was originally called "Guangji Tower" and is also known as "Hanjiang Tower." It is commonly referred to as "Dongmen Tower" by locals and is the first of the seven towers in Chaozhou City. It is one of the landmarks of the famous city, with its strategic location controlling the river and mountains, protecting the city, and guarding the bridge. The Guangji Gate Tower is a three-story palace-style pavilion with a hip roof. The outer gate originally had the inscription "East for Wanchun." The restoration of the Guangji Gate Tower follows the design of a three-story palace-style hip roof, restoring the stone and wood structure of the Ming Dynasty. The ground floor is elevated to 19.8 meters, retaining the original defensive, flood control, and viewing functions of the Dongmen Tower. The original cement load-bearing columns on the second floor are restored to stone columns, while the third and fourth floors still use wooden columns, eliminating the original cement structure. The beams, doors, windows, railings, and roof ridges are all restored to the Ming Dynasty style, and dismantled components are carefully selected and reused to preserve more historical traces. Cement is not directly used on exposed parts such as tiles, walls, floors, stones, and steps. The restored tower has five bays in width and three bays in depth, with windows on all four sides replaced by lattice doors. The total height of the Guangji Tower Gate is 24.43 meters, about 2.4 meters higher than the original tower. In late spring, climbing the tower to enjoy the view is one of the eight scenic spots of Chaozhou, known as "Donglou Guanchao" (East Tower Watching the Tide).