Guangzhou Museum | Ascend Zhenhai Tower for a Panoramic View of a Thousand Years of Splendor

✨Which city encapsulates its millennia-long history within its extant ancient architecture? Which building best evokes the collective memory of Guangzhou's past for its residents? Zhenhai Tower, standing tall on Panlonggang in Guangzhou since the early Ming Dynasty, has weathered over six centuries of change, preserving the rich history of the Lingnan region. Today, it houses the Guangzhou Museum, a place where history is enshrined within its elegant eaves and upturned corners, inviting visitors to savor its stories. —— 📍 Basic Information ▪️Address: Zhenhai Tower, Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou ▫️Opening Hours: 9:00–17:30, closed on Mondays ▫️Tickets: Zhenhai Tower Main Building: CNY 10 | Zhongyuan Tower Exhibition Area: Free ▫️Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 to Yuexiu Park Station, then walk through the lush Yuexiu Park and take a photo with the iconic Five Rams Sculpture! ▫️Stamps: One stamp available at the Zhenhai Tower Visitor Center (Figure 2) —— 🏯【Zhenhai Tower: Five Floors Spanning Five Centuries】 Zhenhai Tower was originally built in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1380). During its renovation in 1928, the original wooden structure was replaced with reinforced concrete, but the brick and stone walls remain from the Ming Dynasty. The five-story rectangular tower features gradually receding levels, upturned eaves and corners, resembling both a tower and a pagoda. Its red walls and green tiles make it a rare multi-story pavilion-style building in ancient Chinese architecture. It is known as the "No.1 Scenic Spot in Lingnan" and is now a national heritage site! ▪️Stepping into Zhenhai Tower, the history of Guangzhou unfolds before your eyes, layer by layer: As early as the Neolithic Age, ancestors thrived here; during the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Nanyue Kingdom was established here, marking the first major development of Lingnan; in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Guangzhou became a major port in the East, attracting ships and merchants; with the arrival of the "Age of Exploration," Guangzhou rose to become a major commercial hub in Asia during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with "Canton" becoming synonymous with "China" in the eyes of Westerners; in modern times, Guangzhou has been at the forefront of embracing new trends, becoming the southern gateway to Western learning. ▪️Zhenhai Tower houses the Guangzhou History Exhibition, showcasing nearly a thousand cultural relics from prehistory to modern times. While the five-story exhibition isn't extensive, several eye-catching artifacts truly captivated me! Ascending Zhenhai Tower offers a breathtaking view of the beautiful cityscape, with the Yuexiu Mountain Stadium, once the home ground of Guangzhou R&F F.C., in the foreground. ▪️Xijin Pavilion, located on the east side of Zhenhai Tower Square, serves as a temporary exhibition hall. ▪️The Zhenhai Tower exhibition area also preserves the oldest existing city wall in Guangzhou—the Ming City Wall. The pair of red sandstone lions in front of Zhenhai Tower were moved from the base of Shuangmen during the demolition of the city wall and construction of roads in the early Republic of China. They are the largest existing red sandstone lion sculptures from the Ming Dynasty. ▪️On the west side of Zhenhai Tower Square is a stele gallery, preserving 23 stone tablets related to the history of Guangzhou. The south side of the square displays Ming and Qing Dynasty cannons used for the city's defense, as well as steel cannons purchased from the German Krupp factory. These cannons are not only relics of the Guangzhou people's resistance against foreign aggression but also physical evidence of the exchange of weapons technology between China and Germany and the history of artillery. —— 🏛️【Zhongyuan Tower: A Universe of Aesthetics Hidden in a Garden】 ▪️Not far from Zhenhai Tower is the Zhongyuan Tower exhibition area, which includes Zhongyuan Tower and the Natural Science Museum. Built in 1930, Zhongyuan Tower was originally the Zhongyuan Library, built in memory of the revolutionary leader Deng Zhongyuan. It features a blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles. The exhibition inside, "Guangzhou Export Art in the Early 18th–20th Centuries," showcases the museum's collection of ivory carvings, embroidery, silk fabrics, Guangcai porcelain, and export paintings, recreating the prosperity of Guangzhou's foreign trade during that period. ▪️On the northeast side of Zhongyuan Tower is a stele gallery, displaying stone rubbings of calligraphy by renowned artists from various dynasties, including Wang Xizhi, Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, Cai Xiang, and Dong Qichang, as well as local historical documents. —— On a red cotton-strewn afternoon, when the wind chimes on the eaves of Zhenhai Tower ring once more, may you feel the gentle touch of time. Come, ascend this ancient landmark, listen to the tales of Guangzhou's history, and experience the warmth and reverence for this city!