BELL TOWER, a photo from Shaanxi, Central

Photographer's Note

Bell Tower is located exactly in the middle of old town of Xian, surrounded by the avenues wit intense traffic. It was created in 1384, during Ming dynasty. It was used to mark the time. After the end of empire it was transformed in cinema, prison, and watch tower to prevent Japanese attacks by plane during II War. Nowadays the only way to reach it is by the underground tunnels used by people to cross the large avenues around it. There is a small museum inside.
You can see a copy of a Tang Bell in the corner.
..................

A Torre do Sino está localizada exatamente no meio da cidade velha de Xian, rodeada de avenidas de tráfego intenso. Foi criada em 1384, durante a dinastia Ming e servia para marcar as horas. Depois que o império caiu ela foi feita prisão, cinema e torre de vigia para observar ataques aéreos dos japoneses na II Guerra. Hoje em dia para alcançá-la tem que se passar por uma vasta rede de túneis usados pelos pedestres para atravessar as largas avenidas que o rodeiam. Há um pequeno museu lá dentro.
Podem ver a cópia de um sino da dinastia Tang no canto.

Fis2, holmertz, ChrisJ, Royaldevon, macjake, deffra, PiotrF, jean113, pierrefonds, papagolf21, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (171789) 2019-06-26 1:30

Witaj Jorge!
A very interesting bell tower, building makes impression.
Good POV, composition and colors.
Nice place.
I love it.
Well done.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (222747) 2019-06-26 1:34

Ciao Jorge, great view of fantastic bell tower, fine details, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful colors very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

holmertz (103520) 2019-06-26 1:46

Hello Jorge,
Wow, this must have been the most magnificent cinema in the world. Now it's just a magnificent bell tower surrounded by less attractive traffic. It's of course impossible to avoid the traffic for a decent photo, so you had no choice but to include the cars. It's okay, because the building is beautiful and the light was very attractive.
Best regards,
Gert

Tue (93296) 2019-06-26 2:06

Hello Jorge,
A really beautiful and elegant tower with beautiful details and fine, traditional architecture. The warm sidelight was lovely and added a nice contrast with the pale blue sky.
Lars

lousat (139906) 2019-06-26 2:36

Hi Jorge,magnificent example of old chinese architechture,very well preserved and with fresh colors too,a perfect postcard from the best POV and impressive sharpness too,i like it! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

ChrisJ (172372) 2019-06-26 6:12

Ciao Jorge

I went up to the viewing platforms around both the bell and drum towers in Xian. The people add scale, and illustrate the huge size of the pagoda like building. The fg cars drive by uninterested. Tfs!

Royaldevon (86328) 2019-06-26 7:25

Hello Jorge,

THis is a beautiful, old building, where the decoration is on the upper levels, nicely lit by the soft light.
I'm amazed at its stream of consequent uses, especially for such a glorious building.
To me, it seems sad that it has ended up so relatively unaccessible , surrounded by constant traffic. It deserves better!
You had no option but to include the traffic, so incongruous with this old, glorious tower.
But, your capture of it it has revealed its ancient beauty.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

macjake (98544) 2019-06-26 8:16

Hi Jorge
this is pretty different from the Bell Towers we have here in Vancouver :) Interesting note, how they use underground tunnels to get here now. and it was once used as a Cinema???? and a Prison??? that's 2 very different uses hahaha. beautifully constructed, and I like the view with the busy cars going by to give it a more modern feel. cheers
Craig

deffra (651) 2019-06-26 10:39

Linda foto bem enquadrado.

Ciao
Deffra

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-06-26 12:36

Jorge, that massive tower should be one of Xian landmark. Across the ages it had different roles but now it is a good idea to convert it into a tourist attraction and a small museum. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens.

PiotrF (55822) 2019-06-26 13:35

Hello Jorge,
Another interesting picture from Xian with interesting bell tower.
I like nice composition here, thank you for informative note.
Good work, fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

jean113 (28221) 2019-06-26 13:54

Hello Jorge, you managed to take this from a good angle, showing two sides of the building.
A very old building, it looks in remarkably good condition.
Excellent sharpness.
Regards Jean.

pierrefonds (115408) 2019-06-26 17:11

Hi Jorge,

The presence of the cars is animating the scene. The point of view is showing a doubles perspective of the architecture of the Bell Tower. The light is bringing out the ebauty of the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

emka (158672) 2019-06-26 23:11

Hello Jorge, I remember well this big Bell Tower in Xian. We see the bell in the corner. I do not remember if it was in a kind of island in the busy streets. There is also Drum Tower as in many Chinses cities.

Kind regards MAlgo

papagolf21 (152607) 2019-06-26 23:32

Bonjour, cher Jorge,
L’élégance est toujours de mise à travers l'architecture chinoise.
Son passé n'évoque pas que des hoses agréables, notamment la "prison".
Une visite intéressante.
Emblème de François 1er en imposte au-dessus d'une porte monumentale

La salamandre, emblème de François Ier, symbolise le pouvoir sur le feu, donc sur les hommes et sur le monde. La devise Nutrisco & extinguo (« Je m'en nourris et je l'éteins »), qui accompagne parfois cet emblème, prend tout son sens lorsqu'on se réfère au pouvoir sur le feu.
Amitiés.
Philippe

mkamionka (75009) 2019-06-28 23:55

Hi Jorge,
beautiful example of traditional Chinese architecture.
I can see the bell which you mention but I wouldn't notice it without your note.
The intense traffic does not actually disturb but add a busy foreground contrasting with the ancient architecture.
Amazing very exotic trip!
Fantastic reportage,
M

mcmtanyel (69063) 2019-07-08 22:10

Hello Jorge,
It is an impressive building, but I don't see why it is called a tower. In my mind, a tower's height should be greater than all of its other dimensions. 👍🏻
Regards,
MT