Tick tock! It is now time to ring in a New Year
Print Edition
The iconic big bells of the Beijing Railway Station have ushered in this year鈥檚 Spring Festival travel rush, which is scheduled to last until March 8.
Housed in the downtown railway station, about 3 kilometers from Tian鈥檃nmen Square, the twin turret clocks were built in 1959 and have ticked away over six decades with unequaled accuracy.
The bells peal out at hourly intervals from 6am to 9pm, playing the folk song lauding Chairman Mao, 鈥淒ongfanghong.鈥
The tower clocks became Zhang Bing鈥檚 responsibility after the 60-year-old maintenance technician landed the job in 1980.
Every two hours, Zhang and his colleagues patrol around the timekeepers to check the mechanical components. Initially, the clocks relied on several sets of gears weighing more than 100kg, and Zhang had to worm his way into the cumbersome machinery to remedy any problems. In summer, he often sweats buckets due to the muggy heat inside.
Later on, the tower clocks were given an electronic facelift. During preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, GPS signals and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System equipped the antique bells with automated synchronizers, easing the burden for the aged guardian.
鈥淚 attend to the clocks as if they were my own children. I dare not be slack, because travelers shuttling back and forth would be misled if the clocks ran a little slow or a couple of minutes ahead,鈥 Zhang said.
These days, the time is everywhere: not just on clocks or watches, but on phones and computers. However, the antique bells used to be the main way for travelers to keep track of their departure and arrival. The tips of the minute hands were designed to be slightly bent to help people tell the time when looking clocks from different directions.
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