Time travel at the Bell Tower & Drum Tower

BEIJING, March 31 -- What do a tiger, a rat, a bell and a drum share in common? No idea? Well, the answer is time – or, to be precise, telling the time. These two animals, along with the dog, the ox and the pig, were time periods in the night for Chinese in days of old, and the drum and the bell were struck to let people know whether it was the hour of the pig, the tiger, or whatever.

The Drum and Bell Towers are on Beijing's Central Axis, along with The Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Tiananmen Square and Qianmen

If you would like to learn more about time-telling in olden days you should make a trek out to Beijing's Drum Tower and Bell Tower. These two sites, which are situated near to each other, are a popular sightseeing spot with tourists.

Not only do the towers offer fascinating examples of architecture, but you can get sweeping views of the city from the top of both of them. You may even get the opportunity to see a drum performance if you arrive at the designated time. Drum performances start at 9:30 a.m. and then run pretty well every hour, on the half hour, throughout the day, with the last performance at 4:50 p.m.

The Bell Tower offers the opportunity to view what is said to be China's heaviest and biggest ancient bell. The bronze bell weighs 63 tons. It was cast in the Ming Dynasty, during the time of Emperor Yongle, who reigned from 1402 to 1424. It was dubbed the "King of Ancient Bells" and apparently when struck, the bell could be heard by people both within and outside the ancient capital. Even those living 10 li, about five kilometers, away are said to have been able to hear the bell.

On the road in front of the Drum Tower

Construction of the actual Bell Tower was started in the 13th century, during the reign of Emperor Zhiyuan in the Yuan Dynasty. But the tower was destroyed by fire shortly after its construction and so was rebuilt in the 14th century, during the reign of Emperor Yongle. However, it was destroyed by fire yet again, and so the bell tower that stands today actually dates from the 18th century. Construction of this tower began in the 10th year of the Qing Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The tower is almost 48 metres high and took two years to build.

Construction of the Drum Tower also began during the 13th century. The tower was originally called Qizheng Tower, which means "coming from" the seven ancient celestial bodies of gold, wood, water, fire, the earth, sun and moon. However, shortly after completion the tower was, like the Bell Tower, destroyed by fire. Then in 1297, during the reign of Emperor Chengzong, the tower was rebuilt. The tower that stands today, however, is the result of reconstruction in the 14th century, which was during the reign of Emperor Yongle.

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