Why is it fashionable to build a big clock when building the customs building? It is said that: First, the Customs Building built by 1893 was the tallest building on the Bund at that time. Foreign ships sailed into Huangpu River from Wusongkou, saw the customs building in the distance and heard the bell. They will soon stop at Hong Kong to go through customs formalities and load and unload import and export goods, playing the role of navigation marks and lighthouses; Secondly, the towering customs building and the tactfully ringing bells have brought a three-dimensional rhythm of life and the embellishment of tourist scenery to the city, providing citizens with timely services; Thirdly, the installation of the clock in the customs building has its historical reasons and the needs of the customs' own business work. From the 1 9th century, the customs learned from the customs of western countries how to calculate the tonnage tax of ships in days, and increased it by1day after 12 in the evening. Because the import and export ships come from all over the world, the clock error of the ship itself is very large, which often causes controversy. In order to tell the time uniformly, the ringing time of the customs bell tower shall prevail.
1893 Jiang Customs Building has already installed a big clock, and other buildings built since then have also installed a big clock.