A vertical axis runs through the downtown area of Canton, along which many provincial and municipal authorities, commercial centers and famous places of historical interest are distributed. Yuexiu Hill is the north starting point of this axis and home to a large number of historical heritages and tourist spots, such as the Zhenhai Tower and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, both renowned and worth visiting. 

 

The full view of Yuexiu Hill and the surrounding downtown area of Canton captured from the top of the Flower Pagoda at Liurong Temple. (Circa 1930s)

Initially, Yuexiu Hill was named Kun-yam Hill after the Kun-yam Temple, first built to worship the Buddhist Avalokitesvara on the hilltop. This postcard image shows the archway entrance and the path leading up to the temple. (Circa 1900s)

The Kum-yam Temple (on the top left of the postcard image) was torn down in the 1920s to make way for the construction of the Sun Yat-sen Monument. How the temple looked can only be seen in rare pictorial records such as this postcard. As mentioned in the previous article, most of the ancient city wall was demolished in the 1910s and 1920s during the city's rapid urbanization; only a small part of the wall on Yuexiu Hill was preserved and protected as an historical relic. (Circa 1900s)

The Zhenhai Tower, popularly known as the Five Storied Pagoda, and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Monument are all important historical relics within the area of Yuexiu Hill. Because of the rich written and pictorial information about these sites, they will be introduced separately in coming issues. (Circa 1900s and 1930s) 

 

As the highest point in downtown Canton, Yuexiu Hill was once the most suitable place to install water supply equipment. As a result, the Canton Municipal Water Supply Commission set up this green-painted spherical water tower there to provide running water to the surrounding urban area. (Circa 1930s)

The Art Gallery of Guangzhou is located on Yuexiu Hill near the Zhenhai Tower. Constructed in 1929 and completed the next year, this palatial building was initially designed as the Chung-yuen Library in memory of Tang Chung-yuen, the general of the Kuomintang who was murdered during the revolution in 1922. (Circa 1930s)

This postcard image shows a pavilion on the hillside, from which the general view of Canton could be seen. (Circa 1900s)

Standing on the top of Yuexiu Hill, the axis of Canton (from the Sun Yat-sen Monument to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and then City Hall to People's Park) could be seen running through the downtown area. (Circa 1930s)


(Written by Wilson Shengwen Mai and revised by Stephen Roach)