If you arrive to Shymkent by train, as soon as you leave the station you will see a notable element of the city: the station clock.

On the railway station square, in the middle of a flowered roundabout, stands a massive pillar. On the top of it, there are 4 clocks, one on each side.
But this building doesn’t just tell the time. Each animal placed on each side of the base of the pillar shows one of the 4 cardinal points: the horse looks North, the camel South, the fish East and the peacock West, symbolizing the singular location of the city on the Silk Road.

Another distinctive feature of the site: the station clock is the only public clock in the city!