Drum & Bell Towers

The Drum and Bell Towers stand opposite each other at the ends of Drum & Bell Square. Together, they served as the city’s official timekeepers until 1924, with drums beaten and bells rung to mark each hour of the day.

We’re back in the Hutong area this afternoon. On Monday, I mistakenly left my Lonely Planet guide at home and missed the Drum and Bell Towers, turning right instead of left at a crucial moment! So today, after visiting the museum, we returned to set things right and finally explore them.

The Drum Tower

The Drum Tower (Gulou in Chinese) was first built in 1272 but rebuilt in 1420 after a fire destroyed the original. The version standing today dates from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 AD) and preserves the design of the 1420 reconstruction.

The Bell Tower

The Bell Tower (Zhonglou in Chinese) is of a similar age to the Drum Tower.  The ancient bronze bell that hangs from the second floor of the Bell Tower was cast during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. With the purpose of announcing the time throughout the city, it’s not only big but is famous for the excellent casting technique used.

This is one enormous bell. It’s 7m high with a base diameter of 3.4m and is 24.5 cm thick (maximum). Weighing in at approximately 63 tones it could be heard up to 5km away.

The tower itself has to be fair solid a structure to house such an large bell. The tower is 48m high. It features double eaves and a hip and gable roof covered with black glazed tiled on top surrounded by a green glazed trim. Inside the build is designed to resonate the sound of the bell and it is also designed as a masonry beam free arched structure with a view to fire prevention. The sides feature coin pattern colored glaze tile stripes.

History and Purpose

The Drum Tower was built together with the Bell Tower and shares its fascinating history. It is slightly taller than the Bell Tower and although it originally housed two drums, only one remains.  This one is still beaten and can be heard periodically during the day though it’s no longer for official time-keeping purposes.

The lovely red wooden building is as distinctive as its grey stone sister tower and is topped by a yellow glazed roof.

Good To Know

You can buy a combined ticket for both. Each takes around 30 minutes to climb to the top, read some of the informational plaques and enjoy the view.  The steep steps make it unsuitable for prams and the disabled.

Would I Return?

Yes. The Drum and Bell Towers are one of the most historic landmarks in the city.  While many of the cultural and historic sites here belonged to the Emperor and were for the aristocracy’s almost exclusive use, these towers essentially belonged to the people.  The peasant’s lives would have been lived to the beat of the drums, signalling dawn, work, break and rest times.  Similar to the church bells of Europe, even without sighting these buildings or the instruments inside them, the people would have felt connected by the sounds that ruled their days.