Hankou Water Tower

Hankou Water Tower

Hankou Water Tower is a municipal cultural heritage site of Wuhan.

Hankou Water Tower

No. 539 Zhongshan Avenue, Jianghan District

Built between 1908–1909

Municipal cultural heritage site

In 1906, Zhejiang businessman Song Weichen invited ten prominent merchants from Zhejiang, Hubei, and Jiangxi to establish a water and electricity company in Hankou. Inspired by the concept of “harmony between water and fire,” they named it the “Hankou Commercial Water and Electricity Joint Stock Company Limited.” In 1909, the Hankou Water Tower was completed and began supplying running water to the city, serving a population of about 100,000. At that time, it was leading in China and was once a source of pride for the people of Wuhan.

The Hankou Water Tower was designed by British engineer Moore. It stands 41.3 meters tall and covers an area of 556 square meters, making it the tallest building in Hankou at the time.

The main body of the tower is designed in an octagonal pattern, meaning the building has a regular octagonal floor plan, with each outer edge measuring 8.2 meters and the inner edge 7.75 meters. The southwest section protrudes as a staircase room. The tower has six floors (the staircase room has seven, extending above the main structure), with rooms on the first to fifth floors and a water tank on the sixth. The outer shell of the tower consists of granite blocks on the first floor, and red brick walls with exposed mortar on the floors above. Each floor has windows adorned with decorative brick moldings along the lintels, giving it a very delicate appearance. Each floor is fitted with wooden flooring supported by steel frames.

A wooden spiral staircase with 198 steps winds around three iron pipes up to the top clock tower. For a long time, the water tower also served the dual purpose of providing firefighting water and functioning as a fire watchtower.