The Dragon Elephant Tower is different from modern buildings such as Xiaoman Kiln in Guangzhou and Oriental Pearl in Shanghai, because it is an ancient tower built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Its position in Nanning is a bit like the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou and the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi 'an, which can be said to have a strong urban landmark.
The Dragon Elephant Tower, also known as Castle Peak Tower, is a symbol of Qingxiu Mountain. It is located at the top of Qingxiu Mountain. It was built by Xiao Quju, a scholar in Nanning and a left assistant minister in the official department during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The name comes from the meaning of "water is stronger than land" in Buddhist scriptures. 204 meters above sea level, more than ten feet high, octagonal nine-story structure, double eaves brick.
About the origin of the Dragon Elephant Tower, local friends introduced it like this. According to legend, after Xiao Yunju was a scholar in high school, a Jianghu geomantic gentleman told him that it was because his ancestral grave was buried in the geomantic treasure house of Fengge Peony. At the same time, Mr. Feng Shui also said that the phoenix can fly. If the Xiao family wants to be a big official from generation to generation, they must try their best to keep the phoenix. If they want to keep the phoenix, they must hold down the wings of the phoenix. So Xiao Yunju believed Mr. Feng Shui's words, so he invested to build a dragon elephant tower on the top of Fengchi Mountain in Qingxiu Mountain, in an attempt to hold down the wings of the phoenix with the pagoda.
Of course, this is not the only legend. There are many similar legends. For example, another version is like this: officials and rich people at that time were superstitious about Feng Shui. Many counties have to build pagodas to block the estuary, thinking that only in this way can they avoid the outflow of financial resources and prosper. So at that time, Nanning built the Dragon Elephant Tower on the Yongjiang River.
Although the Dragon Elephant Tower was built in the Ming Dynasty, the tower we see now was rebuilt later, because in August of 1937, the local government worried that the existence of this tower would attract the attention of Japanese planes and designated Nanning as the bombing target, so it ordered the demolition of three towers.
The Dragon Elephant Tower we see now was actually rebuilt in the 1980s. The new tower is 52.35 meters high, with a tower foundation diameter of 12 meters, a nine-story octagonal building and green glazed tiles. There are 207 spiral stairs inside, and 72 bronze bells are hung under each roof. It is said that it is the tallest tower in Guangxi.
Across the river from the Dragon Elephant Tower is Nanning New District, where there are many high-rise buildings, traffic and a bustling scene. If the Dragon Elephant Tower represents Nanning's past, then the opposite new district represents Nanning's future. Looking across the river, it not only forms a sharp contrast, but also constitutes a beautiful urban landscape.