Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing)

The Drum tower

Performance at the Drum Tower

The Bell tower

Gulou (Chinese: 鼓楼; pinyin: Gǔlóu), or Drum Tower of Beijing, 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.

Zhonglou (Chinese: 钟楼; pinyin: Zhōnglóu), or Bell Tower of Beijing, 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 last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was forced to leave the Forbidden City and western-style clockwork was made the official means of 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. 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. Nowadays, the upper story of the building 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 47 metres (154 ft). In ancient times the upper story of the building housed 24 drums, of which only one survives. Nearby stands the Bell Tower, a 33-metre-high (108 ft) edifice with gray walls and a green glazed roof.

Gallery

Drum Tower

The Drum tower close-up
The Drum tower
Waterclocks inside the Drum tower

Bell Tower

The Bell tower
A giant Ming Dynasty bronze bell inside the Bell tower
The Bell tower, viewed from the Drum tower
View from top of the Bell tower

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.

Coordinates: 39°56′24.68″N 116°23′22.69″E / 39.9401889°N 116.3896361°E / 39.9401889; 116.3896361

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