Construction News
- Shanghai News
Date: 25-May-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
ASIA'S tallest clock tower, nestled on top of Customs House on the Bund in Shanghai will fall silent from June 1 while it undergoes a four-month renovation. It marks the first comprehensive facelift the built-in clock has had since it first began to tick and chime eight decades ago.
The renovation will focus on painting the outside wall of the tower and changing the damaged glass of the clock's face. Nearly one million yuan (130,700 U.S. dollars) will be spent in the renovation, according to Shanghai Customs.
'The clock has four faces, each made up of more than 100 pieces of glass manufactured by a company in Germany which specially made glass for churches,' said Yu Wujin, an official of Shanghai Customs.
The four round clock faces, each of 5.4 meters in diameter, were built in about 1925 in the Greek Neoclassic style.
'With the aging process the glass can be broken when encountering strong wind, being hit by birds and even fireworks,' Yu said. 'There are already many cracks in them, so we will change the damaged pieces of glass during the renovation.'
Scaffolds will be put up outside the tower and painting work will be done first. The clock will not stop until the scaffold reaches the top of the tower, where it stands.
The central mechanism of the clock will be covered at that time to protect it from dust, Yu said.
'After the clock stops, we will have its hands examined to determine whether they should also be changed,' Yu added.
Each minute hand stretches 3.17 meters and weighs 49 kilograms, and the hour hand is 2.3 meters long and weighs 37.5 kilograms. All hands are made of copper.
The clock tower, a 79-meter-high landmark, is ranked No. 3 in the world after its counterparts in London and Moscow.
The first toll with the music 'Westminster' symbolized the completion of the clock tower.
In August 1966, the time-telling music was changed to the Chinese song, 'The East Is Red.' In 1986, the old music was reinstated until 2003, and then changed back to 'The East Is Red' which still tolls.
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