Drum Tower and Bell Tower of Beijing

The Drum Tower of Beijing, or Gulou (), is situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Inner City to the north of Di'anmen Street.  Originally built for musical reasons, it was later used to announce the time and is now a tourist attraction.

The Bell Tower of Beijing, or Zhonglou (), stands closely behind the drum tower.  Together, the Bell Tower and Drum Tower have panoramic views over central Beijing and before the modern era, they both dominated Beijing's ancient skyline.

Function
Bells and drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used by government and communities to announce the time. The Bell and Drum towers were central to official timekeeping in China in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Bell and Drum Towers continued to function as the official timepiece of Beijing until 1924, when the Beijing Coup led to the expulsion of Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, from the Forbidden City, and the adoption of western-styled clockwork for official time-keeping.

History
The Drum Tower was built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan, at which time it stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital Dadu. At that time it was known as the Tower of Orderly Administration (Qizhenglou). In 1420, under the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty, the building was reconstructed to the east of the original site and in 1800 under the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing dynasty, large-scale renovations were carried out. Following the Beijing Coup in 1924, Feng Yuxiang removed the official status of the towers, replacing them with western time-keeping methods, and renamed the building "Mingchilou", or the "tower of clarifying shame". Objects related to the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of Beijing and later the May 30 Massacre of 1925 were put on display, turning the towers into a museum. The upper story of the building currently serves as the People's Cultural Hall of the East City District.

In the 1980s, after much repair, the Bell and Drum Towers were opened to tourists.

Architecture
The Drum Tower is a two-story building made of wood with a height of .  In  the upper story of the building housed 24 drums, of which only one survives. New drums had been build to replace them.  Nearby stands the Bell Tower, a  edifice with gray walls and a green glazed roof.

See also

Imperial City, Beijing
2008 Beijing Drum Tower stabbings

External links

 Chinaguide.com: The Beijing Drum Tower — 360-degree virtual tour and photographs.
 Kinabaloo.com: The Drum and Bell Towers in Beijing — 30 high quality photographs.

Category:Buildings and structures in Beijing
Category:Towers in China
Category:Dongcheng District, Beijing
Category:Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing
Category:Museums in Beijing
Category:Tourist attractions in Beijing
Category:Yuan dynasty architecture
Category:Ming dynasty architecture
Category:Articles containing video clips
China
Category:Drum towers