Pingyao Ancient City Tower (平遥古市楼), situated at the center of Pingyao Ancient City, spans the north-south axis of South Street. It is the only multi-story pavilion-style building within the ancient city. Due to a nearby well with water reputed to be “golden in color,” the tower is also known as the “Golden Well Tower (金井楼).”
Facing south, the square tower covers an area of 133.4 square meters and is a two-story brick-wood structure standing 18.5 meters tall. It has three bays in width and depth, featuring a three-tiered eaves xieshan-style roof topped with peacock blue, yellow, and green glazed tiles, and adorned with glazed ridge decorations and a finial. The first floor spans South Street with a central passageway, while the side rooms have brick bases 0.7 meters high. Four main pillars extend to the top, encased by brick walls with surrounding corridors. The eaves below are supported by a “one bucket, two rises” bracket system, with the central passage featuring a flat supporting bracket. The second floor has projecting railings with a “five-step, double-curved” bracket system and two additional support brackets, while the upper eaves have a “seven-step, single-curved, double-push” bracket system. The front and rear eaves are fitted with lattice doors.
Inside the corridors of the City Tower are 11 Qing Dynasty repair steles, and within the gable walls are 18.6 square meters of Qing Dynasty murals depicting stories from “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” The external eaves and beams are richly decorated with wood carvings and colorful paintings, featuring motifs of flowers, birds, animals, figures, and objects arranged in auspicious patterns. The roof tiles on the north and south sides of the tower are embedded with characters for “joy” (囍) and “longevity” (寿) in yellow and blue glazed tiles, adding deep cultural significance to the tower and making it a unique example of ancient Chinese architecture. The tower also houses an iron bell.
