The Drum Tower (gǔ lóu 鼓楼) is the only remaining relic of ancient city in Ningbo City (níng bō shì 宁波市), Zhejiang Province (zhè jiāng shěng 浙江省). It is also one of the ancient architectures under the preservation of China. The tower covers an area of more than 700 square kilometers. It is a bow stone architecture with a height of eight meters. The doorway is sixteen meters in depth and five meters in width. Overlooking from the top, you can get a view of the whole scenery of Ningbo City.

The Drum Tower was built in Tangzhangqing Yuan Year (táng zhǎng qìng yuán nián 唐长庆元年) (Year 821) and has a history of over 1,100 years. It is the symbol of the city and the official home state in Ningbo. The feudal provincial  in Ming State (míng zhōu 明州) Han Cha (hán chá 韩察) in Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝) moved the state from Xiaoxi Town (xiǎo xī zhèn 小溪镇) to Sanjiang Kou (sān jiāng kǒu 三江口) in Ningbo. Centered on the Zhongshan Square (zhōng shān guǎng chǎng 中山广场) to the Drum Tower, they built the official houses and set paling as a town. Later on, they constructed a circumvallation by bricks. It was called Sub City (zǐ chéng 子城) in history. The south gate of the Sub City is the Drum Tower.

The tower had been renamed and rebuilt many times in history. It was named Wanghaijun Tower (wàng hǎi jūn lóu 望海军楼) in 909. And in 960, it was called Taiguojun Tower (fèng guó jūn lóu 奉国军楼). During the period of Song Gaozong (sòng gāo zōng 宋高宗), the name changed to Fengguojun Loushen Temple (fèng guó jūn lóu shén cí 奉国军楼神祠). At the beginning of Yuan Dynasty (yuán cháo 元朝), the ruler of Mongolia ordered to demolish the important buildings through the nation in case that Han people (hàn rén 汉人) to revolt. Unfortunately, the Drum Tower had been demolished either. After the society turned to stable, the Drum Tower was allowed to rebuild with a name of Mingyuan Tower (míng yuǎn lóu 明远楼). At the end of Yuan Dynasty, the Fang Guozhen (fāng guó zhēn 方国珍) rebels attacked the Ningbo City, the tower was burned down again.

In 1434, the viceroy Huang Yongding (huáng yǒng dǐng 黄永鼎) rebuilt the Drum Tower based on the Tang, Song ruins. The south side of the tower was nominated Si Ming Wei Guan (sì míng wěi guān 四明伟观) and the north side nominated Shen Wen Yu Tian (shēng wén yú tiān 声闻于天). During the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), the tower was rebuilt many times again. In 1935, a square Watchtower (liǎo wàng tái 瞭望台) and Alarm Bell Tower (jǐng zhōng tái 警钟台) was built in the middle of the three-story drum tower building. It can not only tell time, but also can strike a box. In April 1989, Ningbo City granted about RMB 350,000 to repair the tower. Until June 1990, the repair project was finished. That’s what we see today.

Nowadays, the drum tower and the Park Road (gōng yuán lù 公园路) nearby have become a major assembling location for cultural activities in Ningbo. The architectures of the area fully reflects the characteristics of the south of the lower reaches of the Yangze River in Ningbo. On both sides of the road, there are shops that following the traditional architectural style which not only possessed the style of traditional Commercial Street (shāng yè jiē 商业街) in Ningbo, but also has strong historical and cultural sense. The Drum Tower Pedestrain Street (bù háng jiē 步行街) concentrates culture and commercial together, combines shopping and leisure together. It has been one of the pleasure resorts in Ningbo.

Drum Tower
Address: Zhongshan West Road (zhōng shān xī lù 中山西路) in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province
Admission fee: free
Opening hours:
Transportation: you can take No. 12、19、3、2、14 bus to get to there