Hankou Tower of Hankou Tower

Hankou Tower: the old fire lookout post

The construction of Hankou Tower was started in 1908, the 34th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty, and completed in 1909, the first year of Xuantong reign. It was built by British engineer Mu Designed and produced by Er. The water tower is now located in the downtown area of ??Qianjin 5th Road, Zhongshan Avenue, Hankou. The water tower was originally a major supporting facility of the Zongguan Water Plant of the commercial Hanzhen Jiji Hydropower Co., Ltd. It is an octagonal seven-story building: the main body is six stories, and the southwest protruding stairwell has a bell tower above it. Beyond the main body, it is the third floor. Seven floors. There is a wooden staircase in the stairwell, which leads to the bell tower (observatory), which is 4.58 meters high.

The water tower is a modern firefighting landmark building in Hankou. For a long time, it has undertaken the dual tasks of firefighting water supply and firefighting lookout. After the water tower was built, fire water gates were installed in all major streets and alleys in Hankou, thus effectively improving the water source problem for fire fighting. In the last century, fire water gates have gone through the development process of Taiping water gates and fire hydrants.

In case of fire, pull the rope to sound the alarm

The fire observation deck on the top of the water tower is patrolled day and night by four people from the Qinghe Security Association, a local private fire protection organization. There is an alarm bell on the observation tower, which weighs 2,240 pounds (1,018.2 kilograms) and is worth 2,102.16 yuan. The whereabouts of this alarm bell are now unknown.

At that time, the bell was hung on the steel beam bearing beam of the observatory. There was a rocking wheel at one end of the beam, connected with a thick rope. Pulling the rope could make the alarm rock back and forth and make a sound. Whenever there is a fire alarm, the bell is rung and the alarm can be heard far away. Thirty times after the random bell rings, the area of ??the fire will be notified by the number of rings: one ring, from the Match Factory to Huajing Street; two rings, from Xinsheng Road to the front and back flower buildings; three rings, from the flower buildings to the embankment mouth; four rings, from the embankment mouth. To the Siguan Hall; at the fifth ring, go from the Siguan Hall to Shen Family Temple; at the sixth ring, from Shen Family Temple to Dawang Temple; at the seventh ring, from Dawang Temple to Wuxian Temple; at the eighth ring, from Wuxian Temple to Renyisi; at the ninth ring, go to Renyisi Temple To Qiaokou. In addition, a red flag is hung on the top of the tower during the day and a red light is hung at night to indicate a fire.

As a historical witness, Shuita has silently observed the historical changes of Wuhan’s firefighting in the past century. In 1949, after the liberation of Wuhan, the water tower returned to the embrace of the people. On May 27, 1998, the water tower was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Wuhan by the Wuhan Municipal People's Government. The iconic water tower that stands near Jianghan Road on Zhongshan Avenue and has experienced 95 years of vicissitudes was formerly known as the Hankou Water Tower of Jiji Hydropower Company. It is the earliest high-rise building in Wuhan, an outstanding historical building, and a first-class protected building.

In 1906, Zhejiang businessman Song Weichen invited 10 giant businessmen from Zhejiang, Hubei, and Jiangxi to initiate the establishment of a hydropower company. Taking the meaning of "both water and fire", it was named "Commercial Hanzhen Jiji Hydropower Co., Ltd." . The water tower and water plant were completed in August 1909, and the water supply was put into operation in September of the same year. The daily water supply capacity is 5 million gallons (27,330 tons), and the water supply population is about 100,000. The establishment of the water plant was at the forefront of China's history at that time and was the largest in scale. It was also the pride of Wuhan people.

Before the 1970s, the water tower was one of the few high-rise buildings in Wuhan. The tower was 41.3 meters high. It was comparable to Jianghanguan and the Binjiang Flood Control and Flood Control Monument. When I was a child, whenever I walked to its feet, I could not help but stop and look up at it. Its figure was majestic and approachable, and its color was simple and attractive. Through the door of the courtyard facing the street, you can see the "fire engines" parked inside, as well as the energetic firefighters wearing raincoats (waterproof suits) and galoshes (rain boots). Watching them wearing helmets when dispatching the police, ringing the alarm bell and blaring the siren, and quickly opening the road, tension, admiration, and peace instantly echoed in the heart like a symphony melody.

During the Cultural Revolution, Shuita once became the source of news and information for the city. At that time, the few newspapers had ceased publication, and the radio broadcasts were all about the same tone. Richer and more sensitive information often came from Shuita first. The big-character poster column below. Zhongshan Avenue near the water tower was once a small square. I saw countless cartoons, large-scale slogans and calligraphy there, and I also felt the beating pulse of that era. The water tower is still silently watching everything that people are sometimes happy and sometimes angry about. It is like a historical old man who witnesses the rise and fall of the city.

I have lived in Wuhan for 48 years, but I have never had the opportunity to climb to the top of the tower in person, touch this rich history of science and technology and culture, and overlook the ever-changing bustling cityscape of Jiangcheng. It is known from the information that the water tower was designed by British engineer Moore and constructed by Guangrongxing Construction Factory. Mixed structure, 7 floors. The main plane is a regular octagon (or implies the eight trigrams of the Book of Changes), with each side 8.2 meters long. The southwest protruding stairwell is square, 4 meters long. It covers an area of ??350 square meters and has a construction area of ??2120 square meters. The tower has six floors (the stairwell extends beyond the main part to seven floors), with rooms on the first to fifth floors and water tanks on the sixth floor. Because it was built in a lake and swamp, the base of the tower is about 15 meters deep and is made of concrete. The shell of the tower body is made of granite blocks on the first floor, and red brick plain walls are on the second floor and above. There are two wooden windows 2.44 meters high and 1.18 meters wide on each side of each floor, with decorative brick lines on the window eyebrows. Each floor has wooden floor slabs supported by steel frames. In the center of the tower is a special flange pipe column, the lower end is buried under the foundation, and the upper end supports the water tank located on the sixth floor. The cylindrical water tank has a bottom diameter of 17.2 meters and a wall height of 6.5 meters. It is riveted with two layers of half-inch steel plates. The water tank has a capacity of 1,477 tons. The main purpose of the water tower is to regulate the water supply pressure in the urban center. The tower has 198 wooden steps spiraling around three iron pipes. You can climb to the bell tower on the top of the tower. There is a cast copper alarm bell in the original bell tower. If a fire occurs, the number of alarm bells will be used to report the fire area. A red flag is hung during the day and a red light is hung at night. logo.

Looking at the aging water tower, I was thinking: If people cannot appreciate the interior of the water tower in person, how can this "excellent historical building" be reflected? The water tower's original role of water storage and observation tower has been replaced by new technology, and its historical, cultural and architectural artistic values ??are being reborn. When will it become a new tourist attraction in Wuhan? Develop and utilize in the process of protection, and be protected in the process of development and utilization, isn’t it the best of both worlds?

The Hankou Tower remains an immortal memory in the hearts of Wuhan people.

The water tower was also a propaganda position during the Anti-Japanese War. Before the fall of Wuhan, anti-Japanese comrades from North Korea took advantage of the "height advantage" of the main building of the water tower to write large anti-Japanese slogans on it. A little further away in Hankou Everywhere can be clearly seen. Experts suggest that the Hankou Tower be built into a fire protection museum

(2007-01-10 07:48:14)

Jingchu.com News (Hubei Daily) (Reporters Jiang Hui, Tu Yazhuo, Correspondent Li True) The water tower located on Zhongshan Avenue in Hankou was once the highest elevation in old Wuhan. Yesterday, Wu Shengjia, director of the Wuhan Municipal Museum of Culture and History, submitted a proposal to transform the Hankou Tower into the Wuhan Fire Museum.

The Hankou Tower was completed in 1909. It is about 41.32 meters high and was once the tallest building in Wuhan. At that time, it was responsible for the dual tasks of fire water supply and fire lookout. It was the earliest lookout post in Wuhan specifically designed to look out for fire conditions. On May 27, 1998, the water tower was listed as a cultural relic protection unit by the Wuhan Municipal People's Government. "The water tower is a landmark building of modern fire protection in Hankou, witnessing the historical changes of Wuhan fire protection for nearly a hundred years." Committee member Wu Shengjia believes that the water tower is now located in the courtyard of the Wuhan Public Security Fire Department, in the bustling Jianghan District where historical and cultural buildings are concentrated. The construction of a high-level professional museum can further enhance the cultural taste of this area.

Wu Shengjia introduced that Wuhan’s firefighting historical relics are rich in information. Not long ago, more than 700 Wuhan firefighting historical relics were exhibited in Hong Kong. These cultural relics need venues for display and protection.

The proposal suggests collecting and sorting out Wuhan’s firefighting historical relics as soon as possible, and collecting an alarm bell originally located on the observation deck at the top of the water tower and other firefighting historical relics from the public. In addition, the proposal also proposes unified planning and renovation of the water tower and podium shops, reproducing the historical features in accordance with the principle of preserving the old, and building the exhibition hall into a first-class special museum in the country.