Bell Tower (Zhong Lou)

Brief Introduction:
Outstanding symbol of Xian
On the busy streets in City of Xi'an, there is a stately traditional building. In early mornings of ancient times it had the mission of ringing the bell and giving the correct time to the whole city, called "The Bell Tower". Standing at the centre of the city with four main streets radiating from it in four directions linking the four gates in the city wall, the tower became the symbol of Xi'an, ever since the date it was build. This day-after-day time-given Bell Tower went through many dynasties. Due to its old age, many legends and anecdotes about the Bell Tower had been passed on from ancient times. The wooden tower is the largest and best-preserved of its kind existing in China. From many aspects such as the scale, historic value and artistic value, the Bell Tower always heads the list.

Location and Area
The Bell Tower was built in 1384 during the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of Ming Dynasty as a way to dominate the surrounding countryside and provide early warning of attack by rival rulers. At first it was lying in the center of Xi'an City. In 1582, the city went through an expansion so the location of the Bell Tower changed. People then rebuilt a bell tower in the center of expanded city.
The tower base is square and it covers an area of 1,377 square meters. It is 8.6 meters high and 35.5 meters wide and built completely with green bricks. The tower is a brick and timber structure and 36 meters high.

Unknown Use of the Bell Tower
The Bell Tower echoes with the Drum Tower and is half of kilo mile away from each other, but the situations of morning bell and evening drum no longer existed. Nowadays, only the Bell Tower is giving the time. Not too many people know the Bell Tower has taken charge of different kinds of tasks since this century. In the Revolution of 1911, it once used as a bureau of telephone. In 1927, it used as a cinema and in 1928, it was a planetarium. During the Anti-Japanese War, it was once as a meteorological observatory and a warning platform, a prison, and so on. Nowadays it is the emphatic cultural relics preservation unit of Shaanxi Province. The Bell Tower definitely deserves a visit on your trip to Xi’an.
Location: It is situated in the center of Xi’an City.
Ticket Price: 50 Yuan per person.
How to get there: You can take bus No.1, No.2, No.3, No.6, No.8, No.18, No.29, No.43,
No.205, No.302, No.411 and No.611 to get to this attraction.