Shengyuan Tower

　　 Shengyuan Tower is located in the middle section of Tietasi Street in central Jining City. A giant iron bell hangs inside the tower, and when struck, its resounding chime can be heard across the entire city, audible more than ten li away — hence the name “Shengyuan Tower” (Tower of Far-Reaching Sound).

　　　　Shengyuan Tower was first built in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era, Gong Mian, the Jining regional inspector, inscribed a plaque bearing the name “Shengyuan Tower,” which was hung on the front side under the second-floor eaves. The bold calligraphy is particularly striking and majestic.

　　　　Shengyuan Tower stands on a 4.5-meter-high platform and reaches a total height of 16 meters. It is a square two-story building with an eleven-ridged cross-shaped roof. The exterior is supported mainly by twelve square stone pillars, while four vertical columns run from the foundation to the top, supporting the beams and rafters of both floors. The upper and lower eaves and surrounding intercolumniations are all upheld by brackets. The roof is covered with gray tiles, and the ridges are adorned with a sequence of mythical creatures, birds, and beasts. At the very center of the rooftop sits a qilin-like beast with its head facing east, tail west, mouth open and eyes fierce, carrying a sacred gourd on its back — a symbol rich in meaning. The whole structure features carved beams and painted rafters, bright red roof tiles, steep flying eaves, and wind bells that tinkle in the breeze. It is a brick-and-wood structure pavilion-style building. Wooden stairs inside allow visitors to climb up step by step.

　　　　The giant bell on the upper floor is 2.2 meters high, with a wall thickness of 0.2 meters, a lip circumference of 4.5 meters, and weighs 7.5 tons. It was cast during the Song Dynasty.