Beijing Bell and Drum Towers: Complete Visitor's Guide

Before Beijing had clocks, these two towers ran the city. The Drum Tower (鼓楼) and Bell Tower (钟楼), rebuilt in 1420 at the northern end of the imperial Central Axis, kept time for 600 straight years — drums for curfew, bells for dawn. Climb the Drum Tower and a grey-tiled sea of hutongs stretches to every horizon, with the Bell Tower standing due north exactly 100 metres away — a perspective found nowhere else in Beijing.

In 2024, both towers were inscribed as part of the Beijing Central Axis (北京中轴线) UNESCO World Heritage Site — the 7.8-kilometer line running from Yongding Gate to the Bell Tower that has organized Beijing's urban geometry for over 700 years. The Drum and Bell Towers are its northern anchor, and the only place on the axis where you can stand on a 600-year-old rooftop and see the entire line laid out below you.

Inside the Towers: Drum Tower vs Bell Tower

The two towers stand 100 metres apart — a one-minute walk — and together take around 1.5 to 2 hours to visit properly. They served different functions in the imperial timekeeping system and offer noticeably different experiences inside.

Drum Tower 📍 (Map | AMap)

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Drum Tower marked the start of the night watch: at dusk, the keepers struck the drums to signal curfew. Inside, 25 drums are still in place — one main drum (about 1.5 metres across, which still bears bayonet scars left by Japanese soldiers during World War Two) and 24 smaller drums, each representing one of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. Climb to the second floor for the drumming exhibition area, where you can get within arm's length of the main drum. A holographic projection hall on the same floor re-creates the imperial timekeeping scene, and a basement Time Museum displays the water clocks and bronze instruments used to measure the hours before the towers existed.

Bell Tower 📍 (Map | AMap)

The Bell Tower is more austere. Step inside the ground floor and you face the Yongle Bronze Bell (永乐铜钟) — cast during the Ming Yongle period, weighing 63 tonnes with a 3.9-metre mouth diameter, known as the "King of Ancient Bells" and one of the heaviest surviving ancient bells in China. It hangs from an octagonal wooden frame at the centre of the hall; you can walk a full circle around it to take in the scale that photographs simply do not convey. The second floor is an open viewing platform overlooking Shichahai (什刹海), the Drum Tower, and the surrounding hutongs.

Recommended order: Drum Tower first — performances and the drumming exhibition are the main draw — then walk across to the Bell Tower for the bronze bell and a different rooftop angle.

The Drum Show

The system first, then the show. In Ming and Qing Beijing, the night was divided into five watches, each lasting roughly two hours. The Drum Tower only beat the drums at the first watch (dusk, around 19:00, marking curfew) and the fifth watch (dawn, around 3–5 AM, when the gates reopened). The beats followed a strict rhythm: fast eighteen, slow eighteen, steady eighteen — 54 beats per session, two sessions per night, totalling 108 beats. That number was not arbitrary: 12 months plus 24 solar terms plus 72 pentads equals exactly one complete cycle of the traditional Chinese calendar. The live performances today recreate this rhythm.

Performers in Ming-dynasty costume strike the drums in coordinated sequences for about 15 minutes per show. The resonance inside the drum hall is something you cannot replicate on video.

Performances are included in the entry ticket — no extra charge. Check the WeChat official account "北京钟鼓楼" for real-time updates; schedules can shift on public holidays.

The performance runs inside the drum hall — arrive early enough to claim a clear sightline toward the main drum. The sound fills the entire second floor; there is no "bad" seat acoustically, only crowded ones.

The View from the Top: Both Towers

Both the Drum Tower's third-floor terrace and the Bell Tower's upper platform have 360-degree open walkways, but they offer different sightlines.

Photography notes:

• ℹLight is best before 10:00 and after 16:00; overhead noon sun flattens the grey-tile texture considerably.
• ℹUse 2× zoom or longer to compress the perspective — stacked rooflines read more dramatically at telephoto.
• ⚠Weekends between 11:00 and 14:00 are the most crowded; walkways become shoulder-to-shoulder. Weekdays are noticeably quieter.

Visitor Essentials: Tickets, Hours and Stairs

Tickets

Concession tickets (half price): Adults 60 and over; active-duty military officers and NCOs; undergraduate students (not postgraduate or adult-education students). Show valid ID at the window.

Free entry: Visitors under 18; active conscripts; people with disabilities. Present valid ID at the ticket window to collect a free ticket.

Buying online vs on the day: Full-price adult tickets can be purchased through the WeChat official account "北京钟鼓楼" — this avoids queuing at the window. Concession and free tickets must be collected in person at the ticket window with ID. Groups of 20 or more should call 010-84028113 at least three days ahead.

Combined or separate? The combined ticket costs exactly the same as buying separately (¥20 + ¥10 = ¥30) — there is no discount. Its only advantage is skipping a second queue. With the Bell Tower currently closed for maintenance, buy only the Drum Tower ticket (¥20) for now; the combined ticket makes sense once the Bell Tower reopens. Before your trip, confirm whether both towers are open via the WeChat account "北京钟鼓楼" or 010-84027869 — status can change after publication.

Monday closure note: First-floor exhibitions close on Mondays (except public holidays). The Drum Tower courtyard, second-floor drumming area, and rooftop terrace remain open on Mondays.

Opening Hours

During major public holidays (Spring Festival, May Day, National Day), closing time extends by approximately 30 minutes.

Stairs and Accessibility

Neither tower has a lift. The Drum Tower has 69 wooden steps at roughly a 45-degree angle — handrails on both sides, but the staircase is narrow, so expect to pause for people coming down. The Bell Tower has 75 steps at a slightly gentler gradient.

Visitors who prefer not to climb can still see the main drum from the base of the Drum Tower steps, and the bronze bell is fully visible from the Bell Tower ground floor. Pushchairs and wheelchairs cannot access the upper floors. Visitors 60 and over can manage the climb at a slow pace using the handrails; assess your own comfort level.

How Long to Allow

How to Get There and Explore Nearby

Getting There

Bus: Multiple routes stop at the Drum Tower (鼓楼) stop. Useful from Nanluoguxiang, Shichahai, or the Second Ring Road.

Taxi / DiDi: Tell the driver 鼓楼 or 钟鼓楼广场. Navigation apps route directly to the square entrance. Show the phrase below:

The Hutong Walk After

The area around the Drum Tower has the highest concentration of intact hutongs in Beijing. Three directions worth walking after your visit:

Read This Before You Visit

Beyond This Guide

This guide covers the towers themselves — but where you fit them into a Beijing day depends on which other sites you're combining, how hard you want to walk, and whether you want to add Shichahai or a hutong dinner to the afternoon. If you'd like help sequencing the central axis, the hutong district, and the surrounding area into a day that actually flows, we can plan it around your pace and interests.

Frequently Asked Questions

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