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Nightscape of Beijing, Gulou (Drum Tower of Beijing) 66, Beijing, China
Gulou (Chinese: 鼓楼; pinyin: Gǔlóu), or Drum Tower of Beijing, is situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Inner City to the north of Di'anmen Street. Originally built for musical reasons, it was later used to announce the time and is now a tourist attraction.
Drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used by government and communities to announce the time. The Bell and Drum towers were central to official timekeeping in China in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Bell and Drum Towers continued to function as the official timepiece of Beijing until 1924, when the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was forced to leave the Forbidden City and western-style clockwork was made the official means of time-keeping.
History
The Drum Tower was built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan, at which time it stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital Dadu. At that time it was known as the Tower of Orderly Administration (Qizhenglou). In 1420, under the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty, the building was reconstructed to the east of the original site and in 1800 under the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing dynasty, large-scale renovations were carried out. In 1924, Feng Yuxiang removed the official status of the towers, replacing them with western time-keeping methods, and renamed the building "Mingchilou", or the "tower of clarifying shame". Objects related to the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of Beijing and later the May 30 Massacre of 1925 were put on display, turning the towers into a museum. Nowadays, the upper story of the building serves as the People's Cultural Hall of the East City District.
In the 1980s, after much repair, the Bell and Drum Towers were opened to tourists.
Architecture
The Drum tower is a two-story building made of wood with a height of 47 metres (154 ft). In ancient times the upper story of the building housed 24 drums, of which only one survives. Nearby stands the Bell Tower, a 33-metre-high (108 ft) edifice with gray walls and a green glazed roof.
北京鼓楼和钟楼都位于中国北京市东城区的地安门外大街上，是元明清三代北京城的击鼓报时之处。与一般钟鼓楼东西对立排列不同的是，北京的鼓楼在南，钟楼在北，一前一后地坐落在古城中轴线的北端，与南面的景山遥相呼应。1996年，北京鼓楼、钟楼被中华人民共和国国务院公布为第四批全国重点文物保护单位之一。
鼓楼通高46.7米，坐落在高4米的砖砌台基上，占地面积约7000平方米。楼体面阔五间，形制为三重檐歇山顶、灰瓦绿琉璃剪边屋面。从外观上看它是一座两层的建筑，实际在两层之上还有一个暗层。鼓楼的底层为砖石结构，前后各有券门三道，左右各有一道，东北角还设边门，内砌69级式石阶可通上下。二层以上为木结构，四周修有回廊，外侧设望柱和栏杆等。
鼓楼历史上曾经三毁四建。最初建于元至元九年（1272年），名齐政楼，取金、木、水、火、土、日、月七政之意，后来被火焚毁。大德元年（1297年）重建，之后再次毁于火灾。明永乐十八年（1420年）二度重建，不久因雷击被毁。嘉靖十八年（1539年）第三次重建，终于留存至今，只在清嘉庆五年（1800年）和光绪二十年（1894年）进行过部分修整。
鼓楼内部通体彩画，金碧辉煌。二层原本置宋代的铜壶滴漏和铙神，用来报时，但在清初遗失。清代起改用时辰香定更次，并设主更鼓1面和群鼓24面报时，象征一年二十四节气。现在仅存一面主鼓，直径1.71米，高2.22米，鼓面由整张牛皮蒙成，上面刀痕累累，是被八国联军所砍。1924年时，鼓楼曾一度改名为“明耻楼”，陈列展览八国联军的图片、实物和模型等。
鼓楼前在元代时是北京城重要的商业区。根据古代都城“左祖右社，前朝后市”的规制，鼓楼正处在皇城之后，而且附近多有权贵宅第，不远处的积水潭和什刹海也都是商贾云集之所，因此带动了鼓楼前商业的发展。直到王府井、西单等商业街兴起后，这里才逐渐衰落。1949年后，鼓楼商业街重新繁荣，在保留老字号的同时，又新开了许多商店、饭店和风味小吃店，成为北京城北地区的商业中心之一。
from Wikipedia
Nightscape of Beijing, Gulou (Drum Tower of Beijing) 66, Beijing, China
Gulou (Chinese: 鼓楼; pinyin: Gǔlóu), or Drum Tower of Beijing, is situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Inner City to the north of Di'anmen Street. Originally built for musical reasons, it was later used to announce the time and is now a tourist attraction.
Drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used by government and communities to announce the time. The Bell and Drum towers were central to official timekeeping in China in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Bell and Drum Towers continued to function as the official timepiece of Beijing until 1924, when the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was forced to leave the Forbidden City and western-style clockwork was made the official means of time-keeping.
History
The Drum Tower was built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan, at which time it stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital Dadu. At that time it was known as the Tower of Orderly Administration (Qizhenglou). In 1420, under the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty, the building was reconstructed to the east of the original site and in 1800 under the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing dynasty, large-scale renovations were carried out. In 1924, Feng Yuxiang removed the official status of the towers, replacing them with western time-keeping methods, and renamed the building "Mingchilou", or the "tower of clarifying shame". Objects related to the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of Beijing and later the May 30 Massacre of 1925 were put on display, turning the towers into a museum. Nowadays, the upper story of the building serves as the People's Cultural Hall of the East City District.
In the 1980s, after much repair, the Bell and Drum Towers were opened to tourists.
Architecture
The Drum tower is a two-story building made of wood with a height of 47 metres (154 ft). In ancient times the upper story of the building housed 24 drums, of which only one survives. Nearby stands the Bell Tower, a 33-metre-high (108 ft) edifice with gray walls and a green glazed roof.
北京鼓楼和钟楼都位于中国北京市东城区的地安门外大街上，是元明清三代北京城的击鼓报时之处。与一般钟鼓楼东西对立排列不同的是，北京的鼓楼在南，钟楼在北，一前一后地坐落在古城中轴线的北端，与南面的景山遥相呼应。1996年，北京鼓楼、钟楼被中华人民共和国国务院公布为第四批全国重点文物保护单位之一。
鼓楼通高46.7米，坐落在高4米的砖砌台基上，占地面积约7000平方米。楼体面阔五间，形制为三重檐歇山顶、灰瓦绿琉璃剪边屋面。从外观上看它是一座两层的建筑，实际在两层之上还有一个暗层。鼓楼的底层为砖石结构，前后各有券门三道，左右各有一道，东北角还设边门，内砌69级式石阶可通上下。二层以上为木结构，四周修有回廊，外侧设望柱和栏杆等。
鼓楼历史上曾经三毁四建。最初建于元至元九年（1272年），名齐政楼，取金、木、水、火、土、日、月七政之意，后来被火焚毁。大德元年（1297年）重建，之后再次毁于火灾。明永乐十八年（1420年）二度重建，不久因雷击被毁。嘉靖十八年（1539年）第三次重建，终于留存至今，只在清嘉庆五年（1800年）和光绪二十年（1894年）进行过部分修整。
鼓楼内部通体彩画，金碧辉煌。二层原本置宋代的铜壶滴漏和铙神，用来报时，但在清初遗失。清代起改用时辰香定更次，并设主更鼓1面和群鼓24面报时，象征一年二十四节气。现在仅存一面主鼓，直径1.71米，高2.22米，鼓面由整张牛皮蒙成，上面刀痕累累，是被八国联军所砍。1924年时，鼓楼曾一度改名为“明耻楼”，陈列展览八国联军的图片、实物和模型等。
鼓楼前在元代时是北京城重要的商业区。根据古代都城“左祖右社，前朝后市”的规制，鼓楼正处在皇城之后，而且附近多有权贵宅第，不远处的积水潭和什刹海也都是商贾云集之所，因此带动了鼓楼前商业的发展。直到王府井、西单等商业街兴起后，这里才逐渐衰落。1949年后，鼓楼商业街重新繁荣，在保留老字号的同时，又新开了许多商店、饭店和风味小吃店，成为北京城北地区的商业中心之一。
from Wikipedia