Penang Travel Tips Homepage

Drum & Bell Towers, Beijing


Drum Tower, BeijingDrum Tower, Beijing
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beijing_drum_tower.JPG
Author: Gisling
photo licensing

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.

Beijing Bell TowerBeijing Bell Tower
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beijingbelltower1.jpg
Author: Zaptel
photo licensing

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.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.



Timothy Tye
Copyright © 2003-2025 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.