The Jianghan Customs House, one of Wuhan's most iconic landmarks, has stood for nearly a century. Originally serving as the customs office building, this century-old structure once functioned as an inland port whose tax revenue ranked second only to Shanghai. It stands as a living chronicler of Hankou's former prosperity.
The Jianghan Customs House, located at the intersection of Yanjiang Avenue and Jianghan Road in Hankou, Wuhan, stands south of the Yangtze River as a pivotal structure in the Hankou Concession. Established for foreign trade purposes, it ranks among China's earliest extant customs houses and one of the "Four Major Customs of Modern China," alongside Shanghai Customs, Guangzhou Customs, and Tianjin Customs.
Originally constructed in 1924, the building's clock tower once featured a bronze wind vane at its pinnacle. This vane bore English letters E, S, W, N representing the cardinal directions, with a gilded British-style sailing ship embossed between them. Rotating with the wind, this functional yet ornate device allowed passersby to determine wind direction for maritime navigation.
The Jianghan Customs House integrates European Renaissance and British clock tower architectural styles. Facing north and built on a south-north axis, the symmetrically structured building stands 41 meters tall with a reinforced concrete frame structure featuring beams, slabs, and columns. The main building has four floors, with the ground floor serving as a semi-basement.
The clock tower rises approximately 23 meters, with clock faces embedded on all four sides, each measuring 4 meters in diameter. The chimes follow the Westminster Quarters melody, playing hourly and quarter-hourly. A wind vane and observation deck crown the tower. Originally equipped with an advanced imported mechanical clock that operated for 76 years, it was replaced by a computerized multimedia quartz clock in September 2000.
