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Drum Tower
Brief Introduction
Drum Tower is located next to the original place of the Bell Tower, the
intersection of the east, and west, south and north roads, on the northwest
of the Bell Tower. In ancient times, both of them were entitle as "sister
buildings". But it is really a much smaller building along the lively
street that filled with street traders and hawkers.
There is another feature due to its location, the Tower marks the entrance
to the city's Muslim Quarter where is a somewhat enjoyable place to wander
and observe. Once you go in, you will fill with such feelings that here
is almost a "city within a city" and the roads surrounded through
which you can reach the Mosque are like a small village crammed with people.
Architecture
Quite similar to the nearby Bell Tower, the Drum Tower also has a triple-eaved,
two-story wooden structure high off its rectangular brick platform, which
is 52.6 meters (172feet) long, 38 meters (125 feet) wide and 7.7 meters
(25 feet) high. Parapets on each tier surround the center and the elegance
and grandeur outer eaves decorated with wooden arches reveals much of the
superb architectural artifice. The second story is now used as an antique
shop, for which it provides a very original setting. A road goes straight
through it extending to the Muslim quarter.
Function
The Drum Tower was built in 1380 with a huge drum inside, which used to
telling time at dusk, referred as "the Dusk Drum". The base of
Drum Tower is 1,924square meters in size, and 34meters high. In ancient
China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the drums were used
to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency
situations. As time goes by, it gradually lost its function as a time measurement.
In modern times, though the Drum Tower is not used as a timer any more,
there are some new attractions for visitors to enjoy. In the year 1996,
a new drum that covered by a whole piece of cowhide was set here, which
is the biggest drum in China at present.
Admission Fee: CNY 10
Opening Hours: 09:10 to 18:00
Recommended Time for a Visit: Two hours
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