广济门城楼 — Attraction in Chaozhou

Guang Ji Gate Tower（廣濟門城樓）, commonly known as the East Gate Tower (東門楼）. Located in the eastern part of Xiangqiao District (湘橋区）, Chaozhou City (潮州市）, Guangdong Province. It faces the Guangji Bridge (湘子橋）and is the first of the seven gate towers in the ancient city of Chaozhou (潮州古城） . The first and second floors are now the Guangji Bridge History Exhibition Hall （廣濟橋史陳列館）. In the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (明洪武三年） (1370), Yu Liangfu (俞良輔）rebuilt the Chaozhou city wall and built the Guangji Gate Tower. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty （清咸豐年間）it was converted into Wugong Temple （吳公祠）. It underwent a major renovation in February 1931, and part of the wooden structure was replaced with reinforced concrete structure. After 1949, the authorities allocated special funds to repair and reinforce the Guangji Gate Tower. The most recent major renovation was in 2004, based on the Qing Dynasty’s “Map of Chaozhou Ancient City” and the Ming Dynasty’s structural style. The Guangji Gate Tower is three stories high and 19 meters high. It has glass tiles, red walls, red pillars and lattice windows. It is a double-eaved hip roof imitating palace-style building. There is also a giant bronze bell on the third floor, which was cast in the fourth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋紹興四年） (1134). It was originally placed in the Ma Wang Temple （馬王廟）, but later the temple was abandoned, so it was moved to the third floor of the Guangji Gate Tower. Along the north and south sides of the Guangji Gate Tower are the more than 2,000-meter-long ancient city walls and three ancient city towers: the Bamboo and Wooden Gate (竹木門）, the Upper Water Gate (上水門）, and the Lower Water Gate （下水門）. There are plaques and couplets on the first to third floors of the Guangji Gate Tower. On the first floor, there is a plaque inscribed by Liu Bingsen （劉炳森）, "The First City in East Lingnan" （嶺南首邑）and a couplet written by Chen Jingshu （陳景舒）, "The city embraces the river like a belt, and the sky hangs down like a screen." （城抱江如帶，天垂嶂列屏）On the second floor, there is a plaque inscribed by Jao Tsung-i （饒宗頤）,”East is for Eternal Spring" (東為萬春）and a couplet written by Jao Tsung-i. "Ten thousand peaks stand in front of the door, and a river flows to the sky"（萬峰當戶立，一水接天來）on the third floor, there is a plaque inscribed with "Guangji Building" （廣濟樓）by Xiao Xian (肖嫻）and a column couplet written by Lu Ruihua （盧瑞華）, "The clear air of mountains and rivers, the elegant style of ancient bridges"（得山水清氣，極古橋秀風）. It costs 10RMB...

I visited this place with colleagues from our organization on a team-building tour. The main highlight was the iconic gateway, which looked absolutely stunning at night with its beautiful lighting decorations. The structure bore a striking resemblance to Indian forts—climbing the stairs led us to narrow spaces between the walls, just wide enough for one person to stand and observe the front, much like a watch post in a fort. There was also a light show by the nearby river, though I couldn’t fully enjoy it due to the heavy crowd. The surrounding area had plenty of walking paths, with numerous options for shopping, dining, and exploring well-preserved ancient houses. It was a wonderful blend of history mixed with...

On August 4, 2024, after a long walk in Paifang Street, we were led here. It was thought the monument should be a must-see spot for visitors in Chaozhou at night. However, only my wife and I bothered to go up to take some...