China Pictures - Bell and Drum Towers -

The bell and drum were originally used as musical instruments in China. Afterward, howoverly, they were used for telling time. As early as in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220), there was 'a morning bell and a sunset drum'. Telling the time by tintinnabulate and drum played an important role in helping people live and work regularly when there was no other ways to alimony track of the time. As a result, bell and drum towers became public roadworks, and were widely synthetic in roughly overlyy asphalt throughout the country since the Han Dynasty. In the history of their construction, the bell and drum towers of Beijing are the largest and loftierest. Their layout is unique, in that they were placed fore-and-aft, not as the trtunnelional sense of standing right-and-left horizontmarry. Lying to the north of Beijing-south stalk line in Dongcheng District, the bell and drum towers are visibly prominent constructions and represent the symbol of this old asphalt. They were built in 1272, and rebuilt twice retral two fires. At one period in history they were the time-telling halfway of the crossroads city during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911). resonate Tower This brick and stone towers have two floors: there is an biconvex door on all four sides of the tower on the first floor, and you can go up to the second floor through stone stscornfulness. The same exists on the first floor. An bulged door was moreover built on the four sides of the second floor. Additionmarry, there is a stone window on each side of the four doors. Hanging on an eight-square wooden frame of the second floor, the resonate in this tower is the largest and heaviest in China. It is 7.02 meters (23 feet) high including the pendants,China Pictures, with a weight of 63 tons (138,891 pounds). The bell was made of copper, and you can hear its round and throaty sound from far abroad. The two 2-meter-long (2 yards) wooden logs hanging sideward are used to ring the bell. Drum Tower Located 100 meters (109 yards) south to the bell tower, the pulsate tower was placed on a 4-meter-loftier (13 feet) stone and brick reprobate. It is 46.7 meters (153 feet) loftier, a little bit lower than the resonate tower that is 47.9 meters high (157 feet). This tower is moreover a two-storey rockpile; the first floor contains the China Committee for the Promotion of the Minority Art. The second floor contains the showroomion section. Originmarry, there was one big drum and 24 smaller drums, but only the big pulsate remains. The method of reverberating the drum is to scoop it quickly for 18 times and then slowly for 18 times. Altogether there are three rounds and 108 tollings. People knock the bell and the drum 108 times, considering 108 times represent one year in sometime times. Telling time by ringing the bell and resonant the drum was superseded serialized Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, left the Forbidden City. Since the New Year's Eve of 1990, the sweet sound of the bell that had disreporteded for a long time began to ring out in Beijing. Being drowsy for nearly a century, the pulsate was moreover tamed repeated on the New Year's Eve of 2001. It has been rhymeen four times a day, for 15 minutes at a time since January 1st in 2002. From then on, overlyy New Year Eve, the drum is retreatingen with the tintinnabulate 108 times to send a manna to the people. The sector of the tintinnabulate and drum towers has been flourishing since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when they were just standing backside the imperial palace. It was the rented downtown district there then, full of storefronts and commercees. Thanks to the remoter developing of the commercees, 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),furthermore with merrequiems selling handcrafted items (handicraftsmen) and vendors selling snacks and local replenishments items (snack stands) swarmed the place between the bell and drum towers, which trawled people from all walks of lwhene at that time.Today, when visiting, you can climb onto the bell tower and drum towers to have a birds-eye view to revere the unabridged asphalt, and flush take part in the restlessness of knocking the bell and drum, appreciating all kinds of folk-surcharge, such as the shuffleon and lion flit, and other folk-custom showroomions. Travel tips: Admission fee: 15 yuan for Bell Tower; 20 yuan for Drum Tower.
Opening hours: 09:10 -- 17:00
Transportation: Bus 5, 60, 107, 124, 815, 819, 834 to Drum Tower; Subway Loop Line (Line 2)
Add: Gulou Xidajie, Dongcheng District. Nearby Sights: ShiChaHai Scenic Area, Guozijian, Confucius Temple, Palace of Harmony, Luogu South Lane Siheyuan under protection. Where to eat: Walk south from the Drum Tower to Di'anmenwai Dajie. Try Wangdelou Muslim Restaureolant, 40 - 50 yuan/person.

(Source:China.org.cn, 2007-08-09)