Pazhou Tower

Pazhou Tower is located in Pazhou Village on Xingang East Road in Guangzhou City, also known as Haiao Tower. It is one of the eight scenic spots in Yangcheng during the Qing Dynasty and is known for its reputation as the 'Pazhou Pillar'. Pazhou Tower is an octagonal pavilion-style building made of blue bricks. It has 9 levels on the outside and 17 levels on the inside, and is over 50 meters high. The diameter of the first floor is 12.7 meters, the side length is 4.95 meters, the wall thickness is 3.97 meters, and there are 3 doors. The south and north doors enter the first floor tower heart room, and the west door originally had brick steps up to the second floor (hidden layer) tower heart room. The steps pass through the wall and surround the flat seat. From the second floor, the doors are opened on all four sides like a cross alley running through, and the doors are staggered between adjacent two floors; there are no doors on the other sides and niches are set up as fake doors. Pazhou Tower was built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and is the 'big brother' among the 'Three Towers of Yangcheng'. It is said that there were often golden turtles appearing in the nearby waters, so it is also known as Haiao Tower. It looks like a pillar in the middle of the stream, so in ancient times foreign merchant ships used it as a navigation coordinate. In the Qing Dynasty export paintings with Guangzhou as the theme, Pazhou Tower often occupies the center of the picture, showing that it was a landmark of Guangzhou at that time, comparable to the current Guangzhou Tower. For more than four hundred years, the sea has changed, but Pazhou Tower has always stood tall, witnessing the prosperity of Guangzhou's foreign trade. Nestled among high-rise buildings and hidden in the bustling lights, it is not only humble and harmonious, but also reflects the ancient and modern Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, becoming a cultural card of Guangzhou's openness and inclusiveness.