Behind the Drum Tower stands the Bell Tower (zhōng lóu 钟楼).This brick and stone towers have two floors: there is an arched door on all four sides of the tower on the first floor, and you can go up to the second floor through stone stairs. The same exists on the first floor. An arched door was also built on the four sides of the second floor. Additionally, there is a stone window on each side of the four doors. Hanging on an eight-square wooden frame of the second floor, the bell in this tower is the largest and heaviest in China. It is 7.02 meters (23 feet) high including the pendants, with a weight of 63 tons (138,891 pounds). The bell was made of copper, and you can hear its round and clear sound from far away. The two 2-meter-long (2 yards) wooden logs hanging sideward are used to ring the bell.

The Bell Tower first came into use during the reign of the Ming Emperor YongLe (yǒng lè 永乐), when it was converted from the main hall of the former Temple of Eternal Peace, which had been built during the Yuan Dynasty (yuán cháo 元朝).The new Bell Tower was destroyed by fire after only a brief existence and it was not until 1747 that Emperor QianLong (qián lóng 乾隆) undertook its reconstruction with an attractive and durable stone structure. This building was so sturdy that the only damage that it suffered during the TangShan (táng shān 唐山) earthquake in 1976 was the loss of a single stone animal head that had been decorating the roof. 

To cast such a perfect and huge bell was extremely difficult and it took many efforts. However, once the bell was installed, the chimes could be heard clearly and resonantly all across the city for over 20 kilometers. As recently as 1924, the bronze bell could be heard ringing out the 7:00 pm chime.The bell is inscribed (kè 刻) with "It was built on a lucky day, month and year under the reign of Emperor YongLe ". It is the biggest ancient bell in china.

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Attractions Nearby
Drum Tower, Shichahai area, Forbidden City,
Tian'an Men Square,Guozijian, Confucius Temple

Address: Gu Lou Street, Beijing
Admission Fee: RMB 20 for Drum Towr and RMB 10 for Bell Tower
Opening Hours: 9:00-17:00
Public Transportation: take bus No. 5, 60, 107, 124, 815, 819, 843 and get off at the Gu Lou Street (gǔ lóu dà jiē 鼓楼大街)
Or you can take subway Line 2 and get off at the Gu Lou stop.
 

tags: Travel in Shanxi      Travel in Tibet