Bell and Drum Tower of Beijing

The Bell and Drum Tower of Beijing are two of the most iconic and historically significant landmarks in the city, standing as proud symbols of Beijing’s ancient past and its rich cultural heritage.

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- The Bell and Drum Tower of Beijing are situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Inner City to the north of Dianmen Street. Constructed during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) and later renovated in the Ming and Qing dynasties, these twin architectural marvels once functioned as the city's central timekeeping and signaling hub.
  Although the Bell and Drum Tower have lost their function of telling time (The function was completely lost in 1924 when the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was forced to leave the Forbidden City), you can still hear the rings of these ancient timepieces even now.

Address in English : No. Lin 9 Zhonglouwan Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Address in Chinese : 北京市东城区钟楼湾临字9号
Tel : 86-10-84027870
Post code : 100009
Ticket time : 09:30-16:30(April 26 to October 25), 09:30-15:30(October 26 to April 25 of next year)
Open time : 09:30-17:30(April 26 to October 25), 09:30-16:30(October 26 to April 25 of next year)
Closing time : The exhibition hall of Drum Tower is closed on Every Nonday (except public holidays)
Location : Bell and Drum Tower is around 0 km to downtown Beijing

- Public bus: 82, 135
- Subway: Take Subway Line 2 or 8 and get off at Zhonggulou Dajie Station.
Private car is the best method to visit Bell and Drum Tower with local tour operator.

Nestled in the heart of Beijing, the Bell Tower and Drum Tower stand as majestic relics of ancient Chinese architecture, blending imperial grandeur with functional design.
See more details of Architecture of Beijing Bell and Drum Tower

Bells and drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used to tell time and became watches for the officials and common people as well. Bell and Drum towers was time telling center during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties(1271-1911).
See more details of Function of Beijing Bell and Drum Tower

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 Ming Emperor Yongle, the building was reconstructed to the east of the original site and in 1800 under the Qing Emperor Jiaqing, large-scale renovations were carried out. In 1924, the name of the building was changed to the Tower of Realizing Shamefulness (Mingchilou) and objects related to the Eight-Power Allied Forces invasion of Beijing and later the May 30th Massacre of 1925 were put on display. Nowadays, the upper story of the building serves as the Peoples Cultural Hall of the East City District.
In the 1980's, after much repair, Bell and Drum Towers were opened to tourists.

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Bell and Drum Tower of Beijing
The Bell and Drum Tower of Beijing are two of the most iconic and historically significant landmarks in the city, standing as proud symbols of Beijing’s ancient past and its rich cultural heritage.
https://www.beijingservice.com/attractions/drumtower.htm

According to legend, an official named Deng tried unsuccessfully for over a year to cast the bell. On the eve of the final casting, his daughter, fearing that further delays and loss of working time would bring blame on her father, decided to sacrifice her life in order to move the gods to bring about a perfect casting, and threw herself into the molten bronze. Her panic-stricken father could only recover a single embroidered slipper from the flames. The casting was a success and the emperor, moved by the young girls’ spirit of sacrifice, named her the Goddess of the Golden Furnace and built a temple in her honor near the foundry. By the ordinary people she was remembered as the Goddess Who Cast the Bell.
After the bell was installed, the chimes could be heard clearly and resonantly all across the city. But on stormy evenings, the bell would emit a desolate moaning sound similar to the word xie, which means shoe in Chinese. Recalling the old legend, mothers would comfort their children with: Go to sleep! The Bell Tower is tolling. The Goddess Who Cast the Bell wants her embroidered slipper back.