TheDrum Tower ofBeijing, orGulou (traditional Chinese:鼓樓;simplified Chinese:鼓楼;pinyin:Gǔlóu), 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.
TheBell Tower of Beijing, orZhonglou (traditional Chinese:鐘樓;simplified Chinese:钟楼;pinyin:Zhōnglóu), stands closely behind the drum tower. Together, the Bell Tower and Drum Tower have panoramic views over central Beijing. Before the modern era, both towers dominated the Beijing skyline.
Bothbells anddrums were used asmusical instruments in ancientChina. Later, they were used by government and communities to announce the time. The Bell and Drum Towers were central to official timekeeping in China during theYuan,Ming, andQing dynasties.
The Bell and Drum Towers continued to function as the official timepiece of Beijing until 1924. That year, theBeijing Coup led to the expulsion ofPuyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, from theForbidden City, and the adoption ofWestern-styleclocks for official time-keeping.
The Drum Tower was built in 1272 during theYuan dynasty. At that time the city was calledKhanbaliq and the tower was named the Tower of Orderly Administration (Chinese:齐政楼;pinyin:Qízhènglóu).[1] The name symbolizes what were known as the comprising elements of the universe in ancient China, including metal, wood, water, fire, earth, the sun and the moon. In 1420, during the reign of theYongle Emperor, the building was rebuilt to the east of its original site. TheQing dynasty carried out important renovations in 1800.[1] Following theBeijing Coup in 1924,Feng Yuxiang removed the official status of the towers, replacing them with Western time-keeping methods, and renamed the building as the Tower of Clarifying Shame (Chinese:明耻楼;pinyin:Míngchǐlóu). Objects related to theEight-Nation Alliance's invasion of Beijing and later theMay 30 Massacre of 1925 were put on display, turning the towers into a museum. The upper story of the Drum Tower currently serves as the People's Cultural Hall of theDongcheng District.[1]
In the 1980s, after much repair work, the Bell and Drum Towers were opened to tourists.
During the2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, three people werestabbed at the Drum Tower, resulting in one death.[2]
The Drum Tower is a 47-meter (154 ft)-tall two-story building made of wood. The upper story of the building housed one main drum and 24 smaller drums, of which only the main drum remains. New drums have been made to replace them. Nearby stands the Bell Tower, a 33-meter (108 ft)-tall edifice with gray walls and a green glazed roof.
39°56′24.68″N116°23′22.69″E / 39.9401889°N 116.3896361°E /39.9401889; 116.3896361