ACCOMPANYING the gradual growth of Western-style architecture in Shanghai in the 1850s, a diversity of architectural ornamentation was also introduced, including huge clocks on buildings - a kind of "exotic fashion" that traditional Chinese cities had never seen before.

Usually, a well-designed clock was considered as a form of conspicuous ornamentation for a building, but in reality, its practical role was to inform people - near and far - of the exact time.

Over the 100-year history of old Shanghai, at least 11 clocks deserve special mention, including clocks on buildings of the French Concession's Municipal Council, Sincere Co Ltd, the Shanghai Race Club (today's Shanghai Art Museum), and others.

Landmark clock

In terms of historical influence, the clock on the building of the French Concession's Municipal Council was especially important.

Built in 1865, this two-storey building had a Pantheon-style dome adorning its central section. More interestingly, under the dome, four chiming clocks were set facing in the four cardinal points.

Their pleasant sound attracted people to stand in front of the building. From then on, these clocks became a landmark not only for the building but for its neighbouring area, which was even called the "Da Zimingzhong" (Striking Clock Region).

In 1876, the French Concession's Municipal Council had the building rebuilt. Its height was decreased by about 6 metres and only one clock was left on the front of the building.

Yet the reputation of Da Zimingzhong did not disappear with this dramatic transformation. It was only in 1929 - when the French Concession's Municipal Council was moved to a new location and the old building had to be demolished - that Da Zimingzhong was gradually erased from people's memory.

Sense of time

Coming from Western countries, clocks on buildings were new to Chinese. For a long time people had depended on sundials or sand clocks to mark the passing of the hours. Furthermore, clocks were a symbol of wealth and social status at that time.

The introduction of clocks strengthened people's sense of time. For those who had watches or pocket watches, one popular entertainment involved setting their watches to the time of clocks visible on the city's buildings.

In the late 19th century, some poems were even written to vividly describe the phenomenon. Clocks on buildings also added a special feeling to the cityscape of Shanghai, which was hard to detect in China's other cities.

Yet in these early days, clocks on buildings also had their share of problems.

Whether intended for appreciation or for practical precision, the first function of clocks was to be accurate.

However, for technical reasons, some of the city's clocks failed to tell people the exact time. Sometimes, they ran too fast, at other times too slow. Worse still, no one had them repaired or adjusted when they stopped. As a result, they might remain fixed at a certain time for many days, months, or even years.

Practical accuracy

Generally, these clocks belonged to private enterprises or social institutions, so it was hard for the government to manage them.

By 1927, Shanghai was established as a special municipality under the Republic of China. The new government decided to introduce a Biao Zhunzhong (Regulator Clock).

It set up a public bureau specially for the management of public services in the city, with the understanding that Shanghai was China's principal metropolis with a population of more than 3 million.

In the latter half of 1928, the public bureau sought advice from the municipal authorities of London, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo to find out how to establish regulator clocks.

By that time, Guangzhou already had regulator clocks on its streets and Nanjing was making preparations to establish its own regulator clocks.

After careful comparison and consultation, the public bureau finally decided to purchase clocks produced by Siemens. Two master clocks and 22 secondary clocks were ordered in 1931.

In order to better manage these regulator clocks, a kind of radio timechecker was also purchased to adjust the time every morning from 10:55am-11:00am.

Compared with the often ornate clocks on buildings, the regular clocks looked quite ordinary. However, they were of far greater practical value.

They reliably helped people to discover the correct time so people did not have to worry that they would miss important business negotiations or dates because of being misinformed about the time.

(The author is from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)