Sanjiang Drum Tower and County Town Riverside 三江鼓楼与县城江岸

About Sanjiang Drum Tower and County Town Riverside

Sanjiang Drum Tower stands on the bank of the Xunjiang in the county town. Completed in 2002, it covers 600 square metres, stands 42.6 metres tall with 27 tiers of eaves, and is supported by 60 ground-standing posts; its four main pillars, of fir more than 70 centimetres in diameter, include one 208 years old and a second 206 years old. The tower has four internal viewing platforms, the highest on its 25th level, and its base stones are carved with reliefs of Dong daily-life scenes: flower-cannon snatching, singing-and-dancing gatherings, oil-tea drinking, cockfighting and bird-fighting, and silkworm-raising and weaving. The county tourism bureau styles it "the Dong homeland's foremost tower" and credits it with the largest floor area, the most storeys, the greatest height and the largest main pillars among drum towers.

The Yiyang wind-rain bridge, a two-level road bridge across the Xunjiang linking the county town's east and west banks, opened in November 2022. It is 399.6 metres long and 28 metres wide, carrying four vehicle lanes alongside separate non-motorised and pedestrian lanes, its upper level given over to pedestrian leisure and viewing. The bridge combines elements of the traditional Dong wind-rain bridge, piers, platforms, beams, pavilions, towers, corridors and eaves, with a modern architectural style; six pavilion-towers line each side of the bridge body, and its east and west gatehouses are each built as five linked pavilion-towers under seven tiers of eaves, said to symbolise the unity of the Dong, Miao, Yao, Zhuang and Han peoples and the county's 70th anniversary.

What to look for

• Sanjiang Drum Tower, 42.6 metres tall with 27 tiers of eaves, its four fir main pillars including one 208 years old and a second 206 years old.
• The carved base-stone reliefs on the drum tower depicting Dong scenes of flower-cannon snatching, singing-dance gatherings, oil-tea drinking and silk weaving.
• The viewing platforms inside the drum tower, the highest on its 25th level.
• The Yiyang wind-rain bridge across the Xunjiang, its pavilion-towers and gatehouses built in Dong wind-rain-bridge style.

Location & getting there

Getting to Sanjiang Drum Tower and County Town Riverside

Check which interiors and courtyards are accessible. Active places of worship and protected monuments may have different visitor rules.

• Search for 三江鼓楼与县城江岸 with 柳州市 and 三江侗族自治县.