"Architecture is a Frozen Poem" Episode V: The Former Site of Wuxi County Library

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The predecessor of Wuxi Municipal Library is Wuxi County Library, founded in 1912, initiated by local celebrities, because the 4th floor of the center is a large four-sided bell tower, and the old Wuxi people call it "Big Self-Chiming Bell". The former site of the Wuxi County Library has witnessed the historical changes in Wuxi in the past century since the Xinhai Revolution, experienced the ups and downs of warlord chaos, the tribulations of the Japanese invasion of China and the turmoil of the civil war, and gained a new life after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and many historical and cultural activities were held here. The former site of Wuxi County Library was announced as the fifth batch of cultural relics protection units in Jiangsu Province in 2002.

The bell tower, which has not been repaired for a long time, has been damaged in many places, and on the basis of applying for 600,000 yuan of special funds for the protection of cultural relics of the province, Liangxi District has raised another 1.46 million yuan for protection and repair. Completely solve the safety problems such as wall cracking and deformation caused by the settlement of the foundation in the northwest corner, renovate and solve the problems of roof water seepage, wood structure decay, paint peeling, etc., dismantle the partition wall added in the later stage, strengthen the wooden frame of the basement, and carry out "luming" treatment of the old stone components in the original wall, restore the historical original state of cultural relics, and lay the foundation for the old site of Wuxi County Library to be built into a city living room in Wuxi in the future. Among them, the German-made mechanical self-chiming bell restored according to historical materials is a highlight of the renovation project of the old site of the Wuxi County Library, and the thick and melodious bell can once again ring in Xicheng.