Standing on the Huilongji promontory above the Yangtze River, the Suojiang Tower Pagoda has watched over the waters of Jiujiang since the late Ming Dynasty. Prefect Wu Xiu commissioned the structure in 1585 as the centerpiece of a larger architectural complex designed to protect and elevate the city. Completed after eighteen years of labor, the site originally featured a three-story pavilion and four cast-iron cows. The builders intended this complex to serve three distinct purposes: to "lock" the unpredictable river and prevent devastating floods, to stimulate local academic success as a traditional Wenfeng pagoda, and to suppress the elemental fire energies associated with the nearby peaks of Mount Lu.

The pagoda itself is a seven-story, hexagonal structure rising roughly thirty-five meters into the sky. Craftsmen built the tower using heavy green bricks bound together with a traditional mortar made from glutinous rice. They designed it in a pavilion style that imitates wooden architecture, complete with stone-carved brackets and gracefully upturned eaves. Copper wind chimes hang from the corners of each level, ringing whenever the river breeze sweeps past. At the very top, a heavy finial forged entirely from cast pig iron caps the roof. Inside, a wooden staircase winds upward, offering sweeping views of the Yangtze and the distant mountains.

Over the centuries, the Suojiang Tower Pagoda has endured a series of catastrophic events that destroyed the rest of the original complex. A severe earthquake in 1608 sent the accompanying pavilion and two of the iron cows tumbling into the river, yet the pagoda held firm. The pavilion was rebuilt and destroyed again during the Taiping Rebellion in 1853. In June 1938, advancing Japanese artillery forces bombarded Jiujiang. Heavy shells struck the pagoda, blasting massive holes through its brickwork and causing the entire structure to lean noticeably toward the northeast. Despite the severe structural damage, the tower remained standing.

Today, the pagoda is the sole surviving original element of Wu Xiu’s ambitious riverfront project. Following extensive stabilization and restoration efforts in the late twentieth century, the leaning tower was preserved, and the adjacent pavilion was reconstructed in 2004. Now recognized as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, the Suojiang Tower Pagoda remains a striking architectural landmark and a quiet observer of the Yangtze's endless flow.