A Study of the Typological Connections and Local Adaptation of Modern Clock Towers in Nantong Against the Background of Zhang Jian’s Visit to Japan in 1903

From the late 19th to the early 20th century, clock towers—as key physical manifestations of the modern urban public timekeeping system—gradually took on diverse forms within the urban development of Japan’s Meiji period. In 1903, Zhang Jian travelled to Japan to study its industrial and educational systems; upon his return, he promoted the construction of several public clock towers in Nantong, establishing them as a significant spatial typology in the local modernisation process. Drawing on Zhang Jian’s itinerary during his visit to Japan and case studies of clock towers in Nantong, and supported by existing literature and historical materials, this paper conducts a typological comparative analysis of clock tower types from Japan’s Meiji period and their possible counterparts in Nantong. Through a comparison of architectural forms, spatial organisation and functional attributes, this paper seeks to explore the pathways of translation and adaptive changes in the form of modern Japanese clock towers within local Chinese contexts. The research indicates that, in terms of overall form, the Nantong Clock Tower exhibits a certain degree of comparability with some types of public clock towers from Japan’s Meiji period, whilst simultaneously displaying distinct features of localised adaptation in terms of scale, materials and functional integration. The available evidence suggests that this should be understood as a process of adaptive reconstruction of a cross-cultural architectural typology within a local context, rather than a direct correspondence with a single source.