Drum Tower

Drum Tower to the west of the Bell Tower, this tower marks the entrance to the Muslim quarter. From the top of the Tower, you can admire the view of the city. These two towers are located in the center of Xi’an, overlooking a large square, where people like to come to rest, waltz kites, or refresh the summer with the many jets dotted on the square.

Xi'an Drum Tower Facts

Overview of Drum Tower

There is a Chinese saying, “Morning bell and evening drum”, which describes the ancient Chinese stroking the bell in the bell tower and beating the drum at the drum tower to announce the time of the day. As the sister building of the Xian Bell Tower, Xian Drum Tower is about 200 meters away from the Bell Tower, enduring over 600 years. This timber-brick drum tower was built in 1380 in the Ming dynasty and is used as a museum now, which displays collections of various drums and cultural relics and the Muslim Quarter is right behind it...When night falls, the whole drum tower is magnificent and solemn. A spectacular panorama view of the Xian Center is just underneath your feet.

Architectural Features of Xi'an Drum Tower

The two-story rectangular Drum Tower stands on a brick-structured pedestal of 52.6 meters (172 feet) long, 38 meters (125 feet) wide, and 7.7 meters (25 feet) tall. It’s a classical building crowned by a hipped roof with three-layer eaves, and a 6-meter (20 feet) tall and 6-meter (20 feet) wide arched gate is opened in the south and north of the tower.

Above the first story, it is decorated with a waist eave. The second story is decorated with green glazed tiles. A horizontal inscribed board hangs below the south and north sides of the third-layer eave, which reads "Civil and Military Resort" (Wen Wu Sheng Di written by Zhao Kehuai in 1580) and "Sound Heard by Heaven"(Sheng Wen Yu Tian written by Li Yun) respectively.

Highlights of Xian Drum Tower

Upon arrival, soon you will notice there are 24 drums in the north and south sides of the tower with traditional Chinese characters written on it, which are 24 solar terms of Chinese lunar calendar and used to guide the agricultural production and symbolizes good fortune for the coming years. The arrays of those drums are only for you to appreciate and prohibited to touch. In the front of the entrance, there is an huge drum standing erectly where many visitors are doing picture taking and trying to beat it with a reasonable fee.

Inside the drum tower, it is actually an exhibition hall now with various collections of ancient drums and drums of different nations, as well as some treasurable Chinese paintings, and some of the exhibits are older than 1000 years.

After visiting the drum tower museum, tourists can enjoy the fancy-dressed Tang dynasty show with drums beating performance. Since the convenient location, it is always recommended to visit Xian Drum Tower with the Bell Tower.

Things to Do at Xian Drum Tower

Appreciate the Cultural Relics and Artworks

Though the Drum Tower is not used as the timer anymore. In the heart of Xian City, it tells its own histories by displaying the ancient culture relics and traditional Chinese art works as an exhibition hall. Some of these collections have the history of more than 1000 years and in the Drum Tower you can see all kinds of drums of different nations and from various dynasties inside and outside the building. Besides the exhibits, the drum tower itself is a priceless cultural and historical relics as the example of Chinese architecture.

Watch the Traditional Performance

There are traditional performances at Bell Tower and Drum Tower during the day time. Each performance lasts about 10-15 mins and the performance at drum tower is mainly about Tang dynasty styled dance show with Chinese drum beating. It is always 30mins earlier than the show of bell tower's.

How to Get to Xian Drum Tower

Located right next to the Bell Tower, the Drum tower is easily accessible by bus and subway, and visitors usually get to the Bell Tower and then head to the Drum Tower. It is about 40km away from Xian Airport to the Drum Tower and there are direct shuttle bus leaving for Bell tower from the airport, and whole duration is about 1.5 hours. Xian Railway station is also located at downtown area, only 3km from the bell tower, and taking a taxi may cost about 15min to get there. If you get to Xian from Xian North Railway Station, you can take subway line 2 from the Railway station to Zhonglou Station (钟楼站), about 14km (40min by subway).

By subway

The nearest station to the Drum tower is Zhonglou Station (钟楼站) , and the exit C is right close to the ticket office of Xian Bell Tower. After getting off from the subway, you many need walk another 200 meters to the Drum Tower, and the closest bus station is Bell Tower West Station.

By Bus

Bell Tower North Station: Take Bus 4, 12, 26, 36, 37, 229, 235, 600, 606, Tourism Bus No. 7

Bell Tower South Station: Take Bus 6, 11, 16, 26, 29, 35, 36, 46, 203, 208, 215, 603, 605, 608, 609, 616

Bell Tower East Station: Take Bus 7, 8, 47

Bell Tower West Station: Take Bus 15, 32, 43, 45, 201, 205, 215, 218, 221, 222, 251, 252, 286, 300, 604, 611, 612, 618, 622, Tourism Bus No.8/610

How to Plan Your Xian Tour

As the ancient capital city of China for 13 dynasties, ruled by 73 emperors, Xian has left massive cultural heritages and relics for you to explore. Within about two days, you can finish visiting the main sites, which include the incredible man-made wonder, the Terracotta Warriors, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Muslim Quarter where you can get to try the local cuisines. Besides, biking around the Ancient City Wall and tracing back the history at Shaanxi History Museum and watching the Tang Dynasty Show, all of these activities are definitely unmissable for your stay in Xian. Now, it is available to have 72 hours Visa-Free Transit in Xian, and you can go for a history and culture tour or photography tour to explore all the stunning attractions in the city even without applying for a visa.