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Bell and Drum Towers

Bell and Drum Towers, Beijing: Address, Bell and Drum Towers Reviews: 4/5

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Bell and Drum Towers

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Bell and Drum Towers
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896
#54 of 1,647 things to do in Beijing
Historic Sites • Points of Interest & Landmarks • Observation Decks & Towers • Monuments & Statues
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About
This two-story arched wooden structure once held 25 drums which, in combination with bells in the Bell Tower, were once used to indicate the time of day. Only one drum remains today, which is beaten four times a day for 15 minutes.
Suggested duration
< 1 hour
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The area
Address
How to get there
  • Shichahai • 6 min walk
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
4.0
896 reviews
Excellent
251
Very good
411
Average
201
Poor
28
Terrible
5
ceetom1
Chino Hills, CA383 contributions
Historical place to visit
Nov 2019 • Couples
Enjoyed our visit here on our last day in Beijing. Had an early evening flight back to the States so had enough time to visit in the morning. We literally stumbled upon these two structures after exiting the nearby subway and glad we did. The drum Tower
still has an original portion of a drum that was used hundreds of years ago, along with replacement ones looking much newer. The Bell tower has a large Bell but not sure if it is an original. Both the towers are right across from each other so you can easily see both on the same trip. About two minute walk from each other. Beware they both have steep stairs to climb. No elevators. Together with Yandai Xie street nearby, the visit to this area was worthwhile.
Written January 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
PBlyth
Tampa, FL234 contributions
Good Example of a Typical Drum Tower
Jan 2020
The Beijing drum tower is typical of many found all over China. This one has a set of very steep steps leading up to the actual drum chamber. At the top you can walk around the outside walkway to get a view of the surrounding area and read about the different seasons celebrated by the Chinese. Inside are a set of very large drums which are used to play a drum serenade demonstrating the old techniques used to notify the local people of the passage of time. There is also an interesting side display of time pieces driven by candles or water.
Written April 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
paul g
Brisbane, Australia818 contributions
Chinese history at its best
Oct 2016 • Friends
These towers were fascinating to visit, albiet there were quite a few steps that needed climbing to get to the main sections. A great deal of genersl Chinese history was explained but also the highlight for me was learning the specifics of time telling/marking objects that had been used in China through the ages. There are many original artifacts there including drums and time measuring devices. The views are great and the architectural features make a trip worthwhile.
Written June 12, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Natalie M
Austin, TX142 contributions
Unexpected surprise performance
We visited the drum tower last week after a morning at the summer palace and lunch at Houhai lake. We walked from Houhai (through some shopping hutongs) and made our way to the drum and bell towers. There was a wide courtyard in between and we let the kids play for a while. We walked up a steep stairway to the drum tower and I was excited to see lots of drums! I had not researched this place at all and did not know what to expect but it wasn't this. There are several performances throughout the day. We caught the last one before closing at 445pm. You are able to look out and have a great view of Jingshan park, as well as Houhai and the hutongs. It gives you a great feel for what Beijing used to look like. The performance lasts about 5 minutes and is wonderful! This is a hidden gem and is worth checking out if you are in the area, for sure!
Written April 18, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
yycflip
Calgary, Canada2,719 contributions
Another magnificent historical structures in Beijing.
Nov 2017 • Friends
Most people do not venture out to this part of Beijing but I thought I'd bring a friend that has never been part to this part of Beijing. This is both our 3rd trip here but he's never been to this area and he loved it because it's non touristy. We probably saw 10 tourist during our 2 hour walk around the area.

The bell and the drum tower structures were magnificent. Not as spectacular as you would see in the Forbidden city but they are equally as interesting of architectural structures in my opinion.
Written November 20, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
bencj88
Kuching, Malaysia92 contributions
Interesting drum performance at the top of Drum Tower
May 2013 • Solo
I made a quick visit to these towers in May where I used the subway train to Guloudajie interchange station and walked southwards to get to Bell & Drum Towers. It is not very near and took me about 15/20 mins by walking to reach these towers. I arrived around 1455 hrs, in time for the next drum performance show at 1530 hrs. The timing for these shows is at 0930, 1030, 1130, 1330, 1430, 1530 & 1645 hrs. I bought my entrance ticket, 30 Yuan for both towers at the ticketing booth in front of the Drum Tower.
Both these towers are facing each along the same center axis with a 100m courtyard separating them. I went to the Bell Tower and check out the stone stair leading up to the upper level and found it was quite a climb to go up. I decided not to go up since I wanted to watch the drum performance show at 1630 hrs and I have limited time to spend here.
Hence went back to the Drum Tower and walked up the straight long stair with handrail for support to access its upper level. The stair leads into a room which exhibit drums of various sizes and ages. Some of the drums here are used during the drum performance. There is also a small bench inside this room for some people to sit down while waiting for the performance to start. A door in this room leads to a small balcony which faces the south side. From this balcony, I can see the structure of the Pavilion on top of the hill at Jingshan Park at the far distance which is aligned straight to this Drum Tower. Surrounding view are the buildings and shop houses around this Drum Tower.
The drum performance itself is about 15 minutes carried out by a group of youngsters where they coordinated beat the drums to give interesting sound rhythm.
After the show, I went down and walked to main road to catch a taxi and it took me around 15 mins since most taxi passing-by have passengers inside. Due to my time constraint, I didn’t go to the nearby popular tourist place of Nanluoguxiang Hutong on that day. It good to combine the visit to these two places at the same time since they are near to each other, about 500/600 m away.
Written July 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Bernice Sim
Singapore61 contributions
Not too shabby
Dec 2019
Went to the drum tower as it was almost near closing time and we managed to catch the drum performance which lasted for almost five minutes. Take note that the steps to the top of the tower is long and tiring, but the view is worth it. Very accessible and location is not hard to find.
Written December 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Alisa D
Ellijay, GA542 contributions
A quick visit
Dec 2019 • Family
The drum tower is super cool. It has one original drum on display. The stairs are steep - going and coming is sketchy. Once at the top the views are amazing.
Written December 2, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
SMM
Singapore, Singapore15 contributions
Interesting! but prepare the steep high steps up on both buildings!
Mar 2019
Good to history surrounding these two towers. But do prepare the very steep steps up the buildings eps if u have old folks. Even young chaps needs to take a breather half way up!
Written April 11, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Nicole L
Toronto, Canada68 contributions
Lots of stairs
Sep 2018 • Solo
Lots of stairs, but not as much as the Summer palace. When I visited, I got to see a drum performance (posted in picture the times). Not many tourists when I came, about 30 RMB to go up to both towers. There is a nice view, however it is pretty fenced up.
Written September 29, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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