Jiaxiu Tower, located at No. 8 Cuiwei Lane, Nanming District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, sits on the Nanming River. Originally built in 1598 (the 26th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), it was constructed on a large rock in the river. It underwent numerous repairs throughout history, with the current structure dating back to 1909 (the first year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty).
Jiaxiu Tower was initiated in 1598 by Jiang Dongzhi, then Governor of Guizhou, and Ying Chaoqing, the Imperial Inspector. The initial intention was for Governor Jiang Dongzhi to hope that Guizhou would produce outstanding scholars, and to provide a place for young students to study, thus addressing the shortage of talent in Guizhou. In 1776 (the 41st year of the Qianlong reign), Governor Pei Zongxi renovated the tower, inscribed its name, and added the Hanbi Pavilion to the Fuyu Bridge. Destroyed by war in 1909, it was rebuilt by Governor Pang Shuhong. The current structure was renovated by the Guiyang Municipal People's Government in 1982, with a platform added to the east of the tower. The building covers an area of 365 square meters and is a three-story, three-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof structure made of wood and stone. Several pairs of couplets from the Qing Dynasty hang at the main entrance, the most famous being the long couplet by Liu Yunliang, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the Xinwei year of the Tongzhi reign (1871). To the south of the building is Cuiwei Garden, originally built in the Ming Dynasty (approved to be incorporated into Jiaxiu Tower by the Guizhou Provincial People's Government in 1999), which includes ancient buildings such as Gongnan Pavilion, Cuiwei Pavilion, study rooms, and Longmen Academy.
Jiaxiu Tower has three stories, all with white stone railings, each story receding inwards, reaching a height of approximately 20 meters from the bridge surface to the top. The Nanming River flows in front of the tower, forming Hanbi Pool. A stone arch bridge, "Fuyu Bridge," connects the two banks to the tower, with a small pavilion called "Hanbi Pavilion" on the bridge. The entire structure features vermilion beams and green tiles, a three-story, three-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof. Jiaxiu Tower is a witness to Guiyang's history and a landmark in its cultural development.
In 1982, Jiaxiu Tower was listed as one of the first batch of cultural relics protection units in Guizhou Province. On March 28, 2008, Jiaxiu Tower, as part of the "Wenchang Pavilion and Jiaxiu Tower", was designated by the State Council as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.