Xi 'an Bell and Drum Tower-You Never Regret Visiting It

1.Things To Know Before You Go 

The Bell and Drum Tower are located in the center of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, at the intersection of the four main streets (east, west, south and north) inside the Xi'an City Wall of the Ming Dynasty, the two buildings are about 200 meters apart. They are time-telling architectures that were ordered to be built by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in 1380 (the 13th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty) and 1384 (the 17th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty) respectively.

Since Xi'an Bell and Drum Tower are the largest and best-preserved bell and drum towers of their kind existing in China, they possess significant historical, cultural and artistic values. Next, I will introduce their functions and roles, allowing visitors deeply appreciate their profound cultural connotations.

2.Why Is Xi 'an Bell And Drum Tower So Special?

2.1 The Tangible Benefits Bring To Tourists

As Xi'an Bell and Drum Tower are located in the central area of Xi'an City, so they are ideal places for taking a night tour and avoiding the summer heat . Tourists can visit the Bell and Drum Tower during the day, admire their architectural details and experience the charm of ancient architecture. At night, they can enjoy the Bell and Drum Tower against the backdrop of lights and experience their unique historical flavor.

Moreover, various cultural activities, such as traditional festival performances and historical exhibitions, are often held inside the Bell and Drum Tower, which provide tourists with rich cultural experiences. For example, tourists can appreciate exhibits like ancient clocks, watches and drum instruments inside the Bell and Drum Tower while feeling the charm of ancient architecture and the cultural atmosphere.

2.2 Attractions Overview

2.2.1 History Backgrounds

Regarding the Bell Tower construction, it is said that shortly after Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, ascended the throne, a series of earthquakes occurred in Guanzhong area, killing and injuring tens of thousands of people. There was a folk legend that there was an underground river beneath the city and there was a flood dragon creating chaos in the river, which was believed to have caused the earthquakes. Zhu Yuanzhang was frightened and felt uneasy, so he tried to find a way to suppress it. Taoist magicians gave him an idea, suggesting that a bell tower be built in the center of Xi'an City. The bell, as the sound of heaven and earth, could suppress the flood dragon. For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically built the largest bell tower in the whole country. Strangely enough, since the construction of this bell tower, there had been no more earthquakes in Xi'an.

Xi'an Drum Tower was first built in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign of Zhu Yuanzhang (1380 AD). It was built under the supervision of Geng Bingwen (Marquis of Changxing) and Wang Zongzhou (the magistrate of Xi'an). In the Ming Dynasty, the perimeter of Xi'an City was 11.9 kilometres and its area was 8.7 square kilometres. The Drum Tower was located slightly southwest of the central part of Xi'an City. In order to make the sound of the drum spread throughout the whole city, it was necessary to build a tall building and set up a large drum. It was precisely because there was a huge drum on the tower at that time which announced the time every day, thus the building was named the "Drum Tower".

2.2.2 Historical And Cultural Value

Xi'an Bell and Drum Tower were first built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty and have a history of over 600 years. They are the best-preserved and largest bell and drum towers existing in China. Not only are they time-telling architectures in ancient cities but also witnessed countless historical events and the changes of people, hence they carry rich historical and cultural connotations. As the iconic architectures of ancient cities, the Bell and Drum Tower also demonstrate the outstanding achievements of ancient Chinese architectural art and possess extremely high historical and cultural values to attract numerous tourists at home and abroad.

2.2.3 Architecture Characteristics

The Bell Tower is an attic-style building with a pyramidal roof with four corners and triple eaves, the base of the Bell Tower is square, covering an area of 1,377.4 square meters, it is 8.6 meters high and 35.5 meters wide, and is entirely built with black bricks. The tower itself is of brick-and-timber structure, 36 meters high. It has three layers of eaves on the outside, but only two floors inside. The corners of the eaves converge to form a pyramidal roof, and under the eaves are decorated with painted dougong (斗拱), a system of brackets inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam.

Drum Tower was used for telling the time and giving alarms, its base area is 1,924 square meters built with black bricks, its tower body is rectangular. On the outside, it has a gable and hip roof with triple eaves, the eaves on the outside are all decorated with dougong. There are two floors inside surrounded by a cloister. Both the interior and exterior are decorated with gilded paintings. Therefore, these architectures perfectly reveal the unique styles of ancient Chinese architecture and embody the wisdom and exquisite craftsmanship of the ancient times. 

3. How To Get To Xi 'an Bell And Drum Tower

Public Transportation
Bus: You can take bus 611, 251, 43, 218, 201, 610, 609, 610, 15, 26, 36, 32, 302, 222 to arrive the destination.
Subway: You can take Metro Line 2 to arrive the destination.

Ticket Information
Ticket price for Bell Tower: 30 yuan per person.
Ticket price for Drum Tower: 30 yuan per person.
Combined ticket for Bell and Drum Tower: 50 yuan per person.

4. Highlights Of Xi 'an Bell And Drum Tower

4.1 Xi'an Bell Tower 西安钟楼

Xi'an Bell Tower is located in the center of Xi'an City, as the largest and best-preserved existing bell tower in China in terms of shape and structure, it was built in the 17th year of the Hongwu reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty (1384 AD). It is a brick-and-wood structure with three floors of the main building and there is the form of a pyramidal roof with upturned eaves at the four corners. Its total height is 36 meters with each side 35.5 meters long, and it covers an area of 1,377 square meters. There are staircases inside that wind upward, it is covered with dark green glazed tiles on the eaves, the interior of the tower is decorated with gold foil paintings and has carved beams and painted rafters with a gilded finial on the top, looking magnificent and resplendent. When tourists stand on the Bell Tower, they can see the four streets (east, south, west and north) extending from it. Around the Bell Tower are the busiest commercial areas in Xi'an and the Drum Tower is not far away, many wonderful performances such as the performances of chime bells are on display here, listening to its sound, as if they were dreaming back to the Tang Dynasty. Between the Bell and the Drum Tower is the Bell and Drum Tower Square, where the music fountain sets off the grandeur of the night view.

4.2 Xi'an Drum Tower 西安鼓楼

The Drum Tower is situated in the northwest direction of the Bell Tower, it is built on a square base and is of brick-and-timber structure. There used to be a huge drum on the upper floor, which was beaten every day to announce the time, so it got the name "Drum Tower". The Drum Tower was first built in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, four years earlier than the Bell Tower. It was renovated twice successively in the 38th year of the Kangxi reign and the 5th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. After going through the vicissitudes of time, the huge drum no longer exists today, and only the Drum Tower still stands majestically.

Moreover, as the Drum Tower is 200 meters away from the Bell Tower and looks towards the Bell Tower in the east, thus Xi'an Bell and Drum Tower are called "sister towers" . These two architectures of the Ming Dynasty echo each other from a distance and are also among the largest and best-preserved drum tower ruins in China in terms of their forms. What's worth mentioning is that the whole structure of the tower is built without using a single iron nail. Based on the architecture style of the Tang Dynasty, the construction techniques of the Song Dynasty were applied and innovated, making the whole tower magnificent and grand. The eaves are covered with dark green glazed tiles. Inside the tower, there are gilded paintings, carved beams and painted rafters. At the top, there is a gilded finial, the tower body is very elegant, majestic and full of ethnic characteristics.

4.3 "Morning Bell And Evening Drum" Imitation Ancient Performances  “晨钟暮鼓”仿古表演

Chinese Drum Culture Exhibition: In the Drum Tower, there are all kinds of drums from ancient times on display, including dozens of types such as pottery drums, stone drums, shield drums, tiger-seat and bird-frame drums, and bronze drums etc.

Since 2007, it has started to hold the "Morning Bell and Evening Drum" imitation ancient performance activities in Xi'an Bell and Drum Tower, the Jingyun Bell (a replica) on the Bell Tower rings 24 times at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 3:00 p.m. respectively, after that, the Twenty-four Solar Terms drums on the Drum Tower sound together at 6:00 p.m., and then Wentian Drum rings 24 times to announce the evening time, this move marks the restoration of the "Morning Bell and Evening Drum" time-telling system in Xi'an, which had disappeared for more than 100 years, tourists will feel quite shocked when they are immersed in it.

5. Best Time To Go

‌The best time to visit Xi'an Bell and Drum Tower is mainly in spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) .These two seasons have the most suitable climatic conditions, which can bring comfortable travel experience to tourists.

For those interested in photography, visiting in the late afternoon, especially 14:00-15:00 is ideal, since the sunlight is moderate during this period, it is not too dazzling, and tourists will not miss the night scenes in the evening, the surrounding Muslim Quarter’s vibrant night market is a very good choice.

6. Nearby Attractions

6.1 Muslim Quarter 回民街

Muslim Quarter, also called Huimin Street( 回民街 ), is a famous food and cultural block in Xi'an. It consists of multiple streets such as Beiyuanmen(北院门), Beiguangji Street（北广济街）, Xiyangshi（西羊市）, Dapiyuan（大皮院）, Huajue Lane（化觉巷）, and Sajinqiao（洒金桥）. Huimin Street is not only one of the landmarks of Xi'an but also a popular attraction that foreign tourists must visit, it is worth mentioning that there are all sorts of delicious food on this street, such as mutton soaked bread, sour soup dumplings, cinnamon persimmon cake etc, foreigners who like delicacy in this street can find their loved taste. Currently, Huimin Street attracts a large number of Chinese and foreign tourists for sightseeing all year round, so it is undoubtedly the destination not to be missed.

6.2 Xi'an City Wall 西安城墙

It is one of the largest and well-preserved ancient city walls existing in China. Located in the central area of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, it was first built in the 7th year of Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1374 AD) and was expanded on the basis of the imperial city of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty and Fengyuan City in the Yuan Dynasty. The outline of the city wall is in the shape of a closed rectangle with a perimeter of 11.9 kilometers. The wall is 12 meters high, 18 meters wide at the bottom and 15 meters wide at the top. The city wall includes a series of military facilities such as moats, drawbridges, gate towers, arrow towers, main towers, corner towers, watchtowers, parapets, crenels and so on, forming a strict and complete military defense system.

6.3 Xi 'an (Huajue Lane) Mosque 西安（化觉巷）清真寺

The Huajue Lane Mosque in Xi'an, also known as the Xi'an Grand Mosque, is located in Huajue Lane, Lianhu District, Xi'an City. It is one of the relatively large and well-preserved ancient mosques existing in China. This mosque was first built in 742 AD and was called the Tangming Temple at that time. It has undergone renovations on many occasions since then. The mosque faces east, and the entire temple complex is a rectangle stretching from east to west, it is surrounded by cyan brick walls, the whole mosque is successively divided into four courtyards along the central axis running from east to west with a very classical flavor.

7. Suggested Tour Routes And Attractions

Side Ring Road of Bell and Drum Tower Square: Tourists can start their tour from here and then head west to reach the Drum Tower. 

Drum Tower: After tourists take pictures at the Drum Tower, they can go down to the ground floor of the Drum Tower and enter its interior for a visit.

Huimin Street: After coming down from the Drum Tower, visitors can go to Huimin Street, there are numerous delicacies and small shops. Meanwhile, tourists can also visit Gao's Courtyard(高家大院) and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Corridor of the Drum Tower(鼓楼非遗文化长廊).

Kaiyuan Shopping Mall: It is located on the southwest side of the ring road around the Bell Tower, the viewing platform on the 5th floor is a great place to take pictures of the night views of the Bell and Drum Tower, so it is very worth visiting.