One day, when I was passing by Jiang Han Pass, I suddenly wanted to stop and take a picture. Over the years, every time I passed by in a hurry, just as I was taking pictures, I saw a little girl next to me and asked my grandmother: "Grandma, why does this house seem to be the house I saw last time I went abroad, there are many pillars, and there is a big clock on it?" Grandma looked at the child with affection on her face and said to her: "This is the symbol of foreign invasion of our country, when Western devils invaded the mainland, of which Britain invaded this area, they named it the British Concession, later, a large number of foreigners did business here, and the transportation of things in and out needed to be controlled, so they built this building - Jiang Han Customs Building, which at that time was one of the four major customs of modern China with the same name as Shanghai Jiang Customs, Guangzhou Guangdong Customs and Tianjin Customs. Let's go, grandma will take you inside to see, when grandma was young, she especially liked to study the characteristics and history of these concession buildings."
Live view
History
After the Second Opium War, China was forced to open its doors, and in 1858, the Treaty of Tianjin was signed, Hankou was opened as a trade port, and in 1861, Hankou was officially opened, and Jianghan Customs was established.
In the early days of the opening of the port, the office of the Jianghan Customs Office was initially located in Qinglong Lane, the British Concession, and the riverside outside the British Concession Flower Building in Hankou Town. Later, Jianghan Customs business developed rapidly, and its business volume was second only to Shanghai Jiang Customs. The original office was gradually lost and it was relocated and completed in 1924.
The original office of the Jianghan Customs Office
On October 25, 1938, Wuhan fell, and on October 26, the building was occupied by the Hankou branch of the Japanese Army's 2nd Ship Transport Command. Ansil, the tax department of Jianghan Customs, lodged a serious protest to no avail, and Jiang Han closed the customs and was forced to move out of the Jianghan Customs Building.
In 1945, with the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Wuhan was restored, and the Japanese army withdrew from the Jianghan Customs Building on September 26. On the same day, Jianghan Customs issued a notice announcing the receipt of the fake Jianghan Customs Transit Tax Bureau and the resumption of customs business.
On May 16, 1949, the bell tower of Jianghan Pass raised the first red sickle and axe flag made overnight by underground party organizations. In October of the following year, Jianghan Pass was renamed Wuhan Pass. In 1956, Wuhan Guan was ordered to be abolished.
During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards regarded the Jianghan Customs Building as an instrument of imperialism to oppress and exploit the Chinese people, calling it an "anti-imperialist building." The song of the Great Bell of Jianghan Guan was changed from the original music "Westminster Bells" from Westminster Abbey in England to "Oriental Red".
In April 1980, the State Council officially resumed the establishment of Wuhan Customs, and the Jianghan Customs Building was jointly used by the Hubei Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau and Wuhan Customs.
In 1987, the Hubei Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau moved out, and the Jianghan Customs Building became the office building of Wuhan Customs.
In September 2000, the mechanical clock of the Jianghan Customs Building, which had been in operation for 76 years, was "retired" and replaced with a computer multimedia quartz clock.
On November 19, 2012, Wuhan Customs moved from the Jiang Han Customs Building to the new site of Jinyin Lake, and the Jiang Han Customs Building was renovated as a museum.
In December 2015, the Han Customs Museum, built on the Han Kwan Building, was officially opened.
The main functions of Jianghan Customs
It inspects, appraises, collects taxes and inspects the entry and exit of goods entering and leaving the customs, and at the same time manages the entry and exit of foreign nationals and Chinese residents, and also manages the entry and exit mail of individuals when China's postal industry was not yet established, and at the same time covers the dredging, setting of navigation beacons, hydrometeorology, and sanitary quarantine of the Yangtze River waterways.
Comprehensive service hall on the second floor of Jiang Han Customs Building
Architectural features of the Jianghan Customs Building
Jianghan Customs covers an area of 1499 square meters and a construction area of 4109 square meters. The building consists of two parts, the four-story main building and the five-story bell tower, with a main height of 40.6 meters and a height of 83.8 meters at the top of the bell tower, which was the tallest building in Wuhan at that time.
Live view
The Hankwan Building presents an eclectic architectural style, with reinforced concrete structures and facades made of milky granite. The north façade is the main façade, with a plaque engraved with the large character "Jiang Han Guan", and adopts a Western classicist three-section symmetrical composition.
The front façade of the Jianghanguan Building
The north, west and east sides are surrounded by a colonnade of Collins columns, each about 1.5 meters in diameter and about 10 meters in height, running through the second to fourth floors of the building. The bottom of the main building has 23 steps and a stone base to cope with the flooding of the Yangtze River. Steps lead to the entrance of the building, where two pairs of double columns are provided.
The Collins stigma of the Han Kwan Building
The building plan of the Jianghan Customs and Gate Building is arranged in the shape of a "back", with traffic spaces at the center and end, and a lighting patio on the roof. Function rooms are arranged along the edges. The ground floor is a semi-basement, the second floor is a comprehensive service space, the third floor is the office space for customs officers, and the fourth floor is the office and living space for senior officials.
Floor plan of the second floor of the Jianghanguan Building
Today's Jianghan Customs Building
A century of vicissitudes, a century of vicissitudes, a century of great changes, Jianghan Customs Building has witnessed the humiliating history of China's plundering by Western powers, and also witnessed the changes of the times in the past hundred years. Today, the Jianghan Customs Building has become a fascinating cultural landscape in Wuhan, attracting many people to experience the vicissitudes and charm of the city.
With the "cultural fever" heating up, on October 1 this year, the Jiang Han Customs Museum launched a new exhibition "Museum Love - Wuhan "Museum City" Digital Exhibition", which attracted the attention of tourists.
Immersive exhibitions
On the last day of every year, tens of thousands of citizens and tourists gather here to celebrate the New Year together, count down together, and welcome the "first bell" of the New Year.
Across Chinese New Year's Eve