Beijing Drum Tower

The Bell and Drum Towers of Beijing are two well-known travel attractions. Located at the Northern end of the central line of Beijing, they are a group of ancient buildings with grand and magnificent sights. The Bell Tower is located at the back and the Drum Tower is positioned at the front. Standing on the drum tower, you can not only have a bird view of the old city, but also enjoy the performance of drum beating. Bells and Drums have always been very important musical instruments throughout China's history, having been used to tell the time and served as watches for all ranks of society, from officials to common people. So the Bell Tower and Drum Tower were the central timepieces for Beijing in Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the bells beaten in the morning and the drums beaten at night. The sound would spread for miles in previous years, and the bells and drums

can still be heard nearby, for although their purpose of timepieces has been lost since the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Since the New Year's Eve of 1990, the sweet sound of the bell that had disappeared for a long time began to ring out in Beijing. Being drowsy for nearly a century, the drum was also beaten again on the New Year's Eve of 2001. It has been beaten four times a day, for 15 minutes at a time since January 1st in 2002. From then on, every New Year Eve, the drum is beaten with the bell 108 times to send a blessing to the people. The area of The Bell and Drum Towers has been flourishing since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), when they were just standing behind the imperial palace. It was the busy downtown district there then, full of storefronts and businesses. Thanks to the further developing of the businesses, 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),along with merchants selling handcrafted items (handicraftsmen) and vendors selling snacks and local food items (snack stands) swarmed the place between The Bell and Drum Towers, which attracted people from all walks of life at that time.Today, when visiting, you can climb onto the bell tower and drum towers to have a birds-eye view to admire the entire city, and even take part in the activity of knocking the bell and drum, appreciating all kinds of folk-customs, such as the dragon and lion dance, and other folk-custom exhibitions. Here are some guide information for your tour to Beijing Drum Tower: Address: Dianmenwai Street, Dongcheng District,Beijing. Admission Fee: CNY 15 (Bell Tower), CNY 20 (Drum Tower), Openning Hours: 09:00 – 17:00. Contact Number: 86 -10 -85968802