 The Drum and Bell
Towers
are situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Beijing
Inner City to the north of Di'anmen Street. They are at the heart of
one of the most historically picturesque parts of Beijing,
surrounded by winding hutongs and situated not far from the northern
part of the lakes area.
In
ancient days, the Drum Tower was the time keeping center for the
whole city and was equipped with bronze water clocks and drums that
were beaten to mark the hours. The water clocks were later replaced
with other timekeeping arrangements. The upper story once housed 24
drums, of which only one survives. Its head is made of an entire ox
hide and is 1.5 meters in diameter. Soldiers of the Eight-Power
Allied Forces made a sword slash on the side of the drum during
their invasion of Beijing in 1900.
Close behind the Drum Tower stands the Bell Tower, which first came
into use during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle. It was
destroyed by fire after only a brief existence and it was not until
1747 that Emperor Qianlong undertook its reconstruction. The Bell
Tower originally housed a huge iron bell. But because its tolling
was not loud enough, this was replaced by a massive cast bronze bell
over 10 inches thick that is in perfect condition today. The iron
bell was moved to the back of the Drum Tower where it has remained
for over 500 years. As recently as 1924, the bronze bell could be
heard ringing out the 7:00 p.m. chime from a distance of over 20
kilometers.
The
area of the bell and drum towers has been flourishing since the Yuan
Dynasty (1271-1368), when they were just standing behind the
imperial palace. It was the busy downtown district there then, full
of storefronts and businesses. Thanks to the further developing of
the businesses, the street in front of the drum tower became the
busiest shopping street in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
Dynasties. During the Republican Period of China (1911-1949), many
have-nots (impoverished people),along with merchants selling
handcrafted items (handicraftsmen) and vendors selling snacks and
local food items (snack stands) swarmed the place between the bell
and drum towers, which attracted people from all walks of life at
that time. Today, when visiting, you can climb onto the bell tower
and drum towers to have a birds-eye view to admire the entire city,
and even take part in the activity of knocking the bell and drum,
appreciating all kinds of folk-customs, such as the dragon and lion
dance, and other folk-custom exhibitions.
Check our Beijing Bus Tour Programs. You can tour Beijing with our
group bus tour programs for various routes.
Learn more about Beijing private and
non-private tours.
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