Century Clock

Basic Facts of Century Clock

Chinese Name: 世纪钟 Pronunciation: Shìjì Zhōnɡ

Height: 40 meters

Weight: Over 170 tons

Admission Ticket Fee: Free

Opening Hours: All Day

Suggested Visiting Hours: 1 to 2 hours

Best Travel Season: Spring and Autumn

Address: Century Clock Square, Haihe East Road, Hebei District, Tianjin

Brief Introduction of Century Clock

Century Clock

The Century Clock is a large-scale city sculpture landmark, built in front of Tianjin Railway Station to welcome the new century.
 

At 0:00 on January 1, 2000, a pleasant bell rang in front of Jiefang Bridge in the Front Square of Tianjin Railway Station, marking the beginning of the new century. From that moment on, the Century Clock has become one of the most notable landmark buildings in Tianjin. The Century Clock is made of metal. It is 40 meters high, 14.6 meters in diameter, with a base area of 74.4 square meters and a weight of more than 170 tons. It has three parts: the clock dial, the swing frame and the base, which are all made of metal and show the great vitality of Tianjin.
 

The pendulum of the Century Clock goes up and down, integrating Chinese and Western cultures, and has the characteristics of heaven and man. The combination of classical and modern characteristics means the continuity of time and space. The clock dial is surrounded by carvings of the twelve constellations. The carvings are created according to the original constellation story. Each of the twelve numbers on the dial corresponds to a pattern of the constellation. Aries is placed at the top because the sheep represents good luck in China; Libra is placed at the bottom six o'clock because it represents fairness. All these reflect the idea of integrating foreign culture with local culture in permutation.
 

The Century Clock Square

The quartz clock plate covers an area of 156 square meters, the diameter of the inner ring is about 8 meters, and the diameter of the outer ring is about 14 meters. The plate core and pointers are designed with hollow flowers, and the twelve bronze carvings of the constellations with a diameter of 2.6 meters are inlaid between the outer ring and the inner ring.
 

The Century Clock is the largest 3D art clock in diameter and weight available. Beside the dial is a huge pendulum, with the sun image at the top and the moon image at the bottom. “The sun” and “the moon” are rotating at a constant speed of 3 circles per minute, and the speed is adjustable, which means that Tianjin is the gateway of China. Connected with the clock’s operation, it gives people a dynamic and powerful vitality impression of Tianjin. The pendulum is S-shaped, which is designed based on the shape of the Taiji dividing line, implying the alternation of “Yin” and “Yang”, as well as the beginning and the end. The heavy forged copper base is full of big and small gears, chains, screws, and rivets. It seems like telling people that China’s modern industry started here. The dial shape of the clock is in European style. The Roman numerals and the frame of the dial are made of stainless steel. The clock dial is inlaid with the words "Tianjin" and "2000". The dial and these words will flash at night.
 

The hour hand and the minute hand are made of stainless steel in laser cutting. The total length of the minute hand is about 4 meters. The total weight of the hour and minute hands is 180 kilograms. More than 30 gears are all made of steel and forged with brass outside. These gears represent the passage of time, which means the industrialization age of the 20th century is over and the high-tech era of the 21st century is coming.
 

Shining Century Clock

To ensure the authenticity and noiselessness of the clock’s sound, there are four groups of high and low pitch outdoor stereo set at the terminal of the clock platform, with a total power of more than two kilowatts. This makes the volume adjustable and ensures the sound quality. When the Century Clock first chimes every day, the music of “Dongfanghong” (Dongfanghong means the east is red, a classical piece of music in China.) is played.  After that, it uses the world’s special bell at every hour.
 

Shining at night is another feature of the Century Clock. In the Century Clock, the internal lighting is used to make the dial part visible at night, and the external lighting makes the whole part bright. The main controller has an automatic switch system. It turns lights on and off automatically according to the length of night in different seasons. The light-emitting system also provides power switch signals to the two rotating wheels on the swing rod at the same time, so that the outer circle of the “Sun” at the top of the swing rod shines at night, and the “Moon” at the bottom of the swing rod also shies in the same way.

Transportation

By Bus

Take bus No.185, 92, 35, 621, 635, 639 East Line, 676, 827, 806, 828, 836, 868, 905 and get off at Tianjin Railway Station Haihe Square. You need to walk about 350 meters to the west along the Haihe River.
 

By Subway

Take Line 3 and get off at Jinwan Square (Exit C). You need to walk about 360 meters to the north along the Jiefang North Road and the Century Clock is on the north bank of Haihe River.

By Taxi

If you take a taxi from the Central Park (the city center), it takes about 10 minutes (15 yuan).

If you take a taxi from Tianjin Binhai International Airport, it takes about 30 minutes (65 yuan).

If you take a taxi from Tianjin South Railways Station, it takes about 50 minutes (75 yuan).

The Aerial View

authorName23242: Yan Lin

Date: 01/03/2021

Email: info@chinatourstar.com

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