Jiaxiu Tower

Originally built in 1598 in the Ming times, it is situated on Fuyu Bridge over the Nanming River in the southern part of Guiyang City. It is also called the First Scholar's Tower, which is magnificent and unique in Guiyang.

Jiaxiu Tower is a three-storey tower about 20 meters high. Its turn-up eaves and white stone pillars are well carved and preserved. Green tiles, red pillars, engraved windows and white stone parapets make the tower superb and striking. Ascending the tower you can get a good view of the surrounding city scenery.

Jiaxiu Tower houses the authentic works and paintings of many ancient calligraphers'. Of them, the most famous one is the couplet written by Liu Yushang in the Qing Dynasty. This couplet consists of 206 words as a whole, with 87 words in the first and the second line respectively, which is 26 words more than the "Longest couplet" preserved in the Big Guan Tower in Kunming. This couplet is notable not only for its length, but also for its literatural value. Its choice of words is so delicate and magnificent that it looks into not only the history of the tower but also the universal life of human being. Nowadays, most visitors are attracted to this tower to see the exhibitions of the calligraphy pieces, woodcrafts and stone tablets inscribed with poems.

The night scene of the Jiaxiu Tower is the most impressive. Colorfully decorated with lanterns, the tower is beautifully reflected in water, and strolling on the bridge a visitor may feel as if they have entered a fairyland.