 Drum & Bell Towers, Beijing
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The Drum & Bell Towers are relics of medieval Beijing, when such instruments are used to call out time, or to warn of advancing enemy troops.
Today you can find the Drum Tower (Gu Lou), aligned to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, rising out from the midsts of the hutong. It is a squat structure built in 1420 during the reign of the Yongle emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
You can climb the steep staircase to the top, to catch a good view of Beijing, and take a good look at the 25 drums installed there. There's one big drum and twenty-four small ones, to indicate the different times of the day. These are not the original drums. Alas, those were destroyed a long time ago, during the Boxer Rebellion.
A short distance north of the Drum Tower is the Bell Tower (Zhong Lou). This was built in 1745 to replace an order one which burned down. A 42-ton, 15-feet tall bell, cast in 1420, hangs inside. During Chinese New Year, you can pay a fee to strike the bell for good luck.
The Drum and Bell Towers are open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
How to reach the Drum and Bell Towers of Beijing
The towers are located on the northern end of Tiananmen Wai Dajie, in Dongcheng. Take the subway to the Gulou subway station.
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