Watchtower of Nantong [Photo/mlhaohe.com]

The watchtower of Nantong, alias the Xingshu Tower, was built in the ninth year of the Zhizheng Period of the Yuan Dynasty (1349) and rebuilt in the third year of the Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty (1370) and successive dynasties.

The five-storey Bell Tower was constructed in 1914 on the south of the watchtower. It is 26 meters high and six meters wide. As the symbol of the ancient feudal regime in Nantong, the watchtower was used as the front gate of prefectural or county government organs of Nantong in the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Bell Tower and watchtower of Nantong [Photo/mlhaohe.com]