Guangzhou Zhenhai Tower (Guangzhou Museum)

Guangzhou Zhenhai Tower (Guangzhou Museum)

Guangzhou Zhenhai Tower (Guangzhou Museum) is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

This crimson-red building is Zhenhai Tower, a prominent cultural relic in Guangzhou and celebrated as the premier scenic wonder of Lingnan. It is called the “Five-Story Tower” because it has five floors. Built in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1380) by Marquis Yongjia Zhu Liangzu, it was originally named “Wanghai Tower” (Sea-Watching Tower) and later renamed “Zhenhai Tower” (Sea-Calming Tower), symbolizing the subduing of maritime forces. In 1956, it was converted into the Guangzhou Museum.

There is an interesting legend about the construction of Zhenhai Tower. After Zhu Yuanzhang unified China and established the Ming Dynasty with Nanjing as its capital, he once went hiking on Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing with the Taoist Iron-Capped Daoist. Amid their enjoyment, the Taoist suddenly pointed southeastward and told Zhu Yuanzhang that a trace of “imperial aura” in bluish-green hue was lingering over the Guangdong sea, suggesting that a “heavenly son” might soon emerge. He urged Zhu Yuanzhang to immediately build a tower in Guangzhou to suppress this “dragon vein,” or it would bring great disaster to the Ming Dynasty in the future. Losing all interest in the outing, Zhu Yuanzhang promptly sent people to investigate Guangdong and learned that an imperial aura had indeed appeared on Yuexiu Mountain in Guangzhou. He immediately issued an imperial edict, ordering Marquis Yongjia Zhu Liangzu, who was stationed in Guangzhou, to build a tower on the mountain to suppress the aura. Upon receiving the decree, Zhu Liangzu wasted no time and constructed this tower on Yuexiu Mountain — a structure that is “tower-like in shape yet pagoda-like in form.” The tower is crimson-red, which is said to also have the meaning of warding off evil and suppressing imperial influence.

Zhenhai Tower is the best-preserved, most imposing, and most distinctly traditional Chinese ancient building in Guangzhou. It stands 28 meters tall and 31 meters wide, with five floors. The first and second floors are built with red sandstone slabs, while the upper three floors are made of brick walls. The outer walls gradually taper with each floor, giving it a form that is both tower-like and building-like. With its crimson walls and green tiles, the tower boasts a simple yet unique design. In front of the tower stand a pair of red sandstone lions, each two meters tall, carved during the Ming Dynasty. Facing south and backed by the north, the tower features upturned eaves and soaring ridges. Majestically perched atop the mountain peak, it presents an extraordinary and distinctive presence. The renowned early Qing poet Qu Dajun highly praised Zhenhai Tower for its splendid landscape combining mountain and sea views — majestic and spectacular, surpassing even the Yellow Crane Tower and Yueyang Tower. He noted it was truly “a grand sight to behold across the land and a defining highlight of the Five Ridges.” During the Qing Dynasty, Zhenhai Tower remained the tallest building in Guangzhou. From its top, visitors can gaze afar at the rolling waves of the Pearl River, vast and magnificent, a truly spectacular scene. Looking closer, the layered green peaks of the Cloudy Hill and the picturesque city of Guangzhou unfold in a scene of breathtaking diversity.

Guangzhou Zhenhai Tower

Time needed: 1–2 hours

Admission: ¥10

Opening hours: 9:00 – 17:00

Location: Zhenhai Tower, Yuexiu Park, No. 988 Jiefang North Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou

Hongqiao Subdistrict: Located in the central-western part of Yuexiu District, Hongqiao Subdistrict stretches from Donghao Stream in the east to Dongfeng Road in the south, Xiaobei Road in the west, and Huanshi Road in the north, covering an area of 1.52 square kilometers. Major roads within its jurisdiction include Dongfeng Road, Huanshi Road, Xiaobei Road, Yingyuan Road, Yuexiu North Road, and Fajiao Road. The subdistrict administers 11 neighborhood committees: Deyuanli, Dangui Li, Hongqingfang, Yingyuan, Doufuliao, Sanyanjing, Yuexiu Mountain, Tianxiu, Beiyuan, Mazhuang Lane, and Fajiao. It has 17,309 households and a population of 55,261. Key institutions include the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC, the Logistics Department of the Guangzhou Military Region Air Force, the Guangdong Provincial Grain... More details about Hongqiao Subdistrict++

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· National First-Class Museum of China

· Seventh Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level

Yuexiu Park

Five Rams Stone Sculpture

Guangzhou Zhongshan Memorial Monument

Ancient City Wall of Ming Dynasty in Guangzhou

Wu Tingfang’s Tomb

Yuexiu Mountain Water Tower

Site of Sifang Battery

Tomb of Emperor Shaowu and His Ministers of the Ming Dynasty

Ancient Archway of Chuci Courtyard