Bell & Drum Tower

Located at the center of Zhangye City, Bell & Drum Tower is an tower with four main streets converge. The tower also known as Jingyuan tower, it is the largest well preserved  tower in Gansu Corridor (the historical route in Gansu province, passing Lanzhou, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang). It was built to mark the center of the city as many drum towers do.

Built in 1507 during the Ming Dynasty, it was destroyed in 1648 during the Qing Dynasty by war. In 1668, Zhang Yong, the superintendent of Gansu, rebuilt the bell and drum tower. The tower consists of the foundation and a three-storey pavilion. The hathpace is 32 meters (105 feet) wide and 9 meters (30 feet) high, and it is 21 meters (69 feet) from the bottom of the hathpace to the top of the pavilion. Some say that the tower is so high that it stretches into the clouds.

The tower consists of three-tier wood-pyramid structure that has delicate design and majestic model. It is definitely a traditional ethnic architecture building of China. After stepping at the top of the tower, you will find four traditional Chinese carved panels covered with brush calligraphy of famous artists.

There is a decussate hole inside the foundation which points east, west, south and north and links with the four main streets. On each side of the pavilion, there is a stele which describes different nature scenes in Zhangye and its vicinity. Presently, the construction houses a massive bronze bell on the southeast corner of the tower, which is 1.3 meters (4.2 feet) high with a diameter of 1.15 meters (3.77 feet). The bell weighs 600 kilograms and is delicately decorated with patterns, such as apsaras flying, dragons and tigers. In ancient China, the bell was usually used to give the correct time or give an alarm of fire.

The clock tower is situated on the southeast of Bell and Drum Tower, which was used for time telling or fire alarming. The clock tower owns a height of 1.3 meter and diameter of 1.15 meter, weighing more than 600 kilograms. The most important thing is the clock tower was made up of copper alloy. Therefore, it produces sonorous jow that can be heard in every corner of the whole city.

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