Bell Tower of Santang Church Village

Bell Tower of Santang Church Village

The Bell Tower of Santang Church Village is a cultural relic protection unit of Jinan City.

The Bell Tower of Santang Church Village is located in a pond to the northwest of the old village site of Santang Church Village, Wujia Bao Town, Huaiyin District, Jinan City. It is a stone structure facing west and standing east, approximately 2.5 meters high, with an overall design resembling a four-pillared hip-and-gable roof pavilion. It is well preserved. The structure has a square floor plan, with its base submerged in the pond, covering an area of about 7–8 square meters. On the platform stand four square pillars with rounded corners; their exact height is unknown, and the tops of the four pillars are connected by stone crossbeams. The roof of the bell tower is constructed and assembled from several bluestone slabs, featuring a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. At each end of the main ridge sits a dragon head ornament, while the four sides of the eaves are carved with tile patterns, and the eave edges feature decorative roof tiles and water spouts. This bell tower is one of the better-preserved modern stone architectural structures in Huaiyin District. Having withstood over a hundred years of weathering, it still stands in its original location and serves as an important physical artifact for the study of local folk religion and regional history. On December 20, 2013, it was designated by the Jinan Municipal Government as part of the fourth batch of municipal-level cultural relic protection units.

Source: People's Government of Huaiyin District, Jinan City

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units in Jinan City