Drum Tower Street

Gulou Street was once the oldest commercial district in Beijing. Since the establishment of Yuan Dadu in 1271, according to the principle of "ancestral temple on the left, community temple on the right, market in the front and market in the back" in the capital, Gulou Street, located directly behind the imperial city, is an important part of the "back market". Let me briefly introduce it:



1. The most convenient and fastest way to get there is to take Metro Line 2 or Line 8 and get off at Guloudajie Station;



2. Merchants gathered on both sides of the road, and people were bustling. The alleys were filled with the mansions of the rich and powerful and the simple and elegant houses of ordinary people. The more famous attractions in the surrounding area include: Prince Gong's Mansion, the Palace Museum, Shichahai, Beihai Park, the Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling, the Former Residence of Mei Lanfang, the Bell and Drum Tower, Yandaixie Alley, Guanghua Temple, Bar Street, etc.



3. Wonton Hou, Wu Yutai, Nei Liansheng, Dong Lai Shun and many other time-honored brands have come here for their reputation. 242 stores have been set up one after another. The food is the most affordable, with an average consumption of about 50 to 100 yuan per person. The more famous and down-to-earth ones are:



(1) Li Ji Braised Pork and Fried Tripe, recommended dishes: sesame seed buns with meat, mutton offal soup, and fried tripe;



(2) Stubborn Bones Pork Ribs Rice (Gulou Branch), recommended dishes: Stubborn Bones Set Meal, Beef Brisket Rice;



(3) Xian Lao Man (Gulou Branch), recommended: dumplings, Beijing snacks;



(4) Xiangyuzhai Shabu-shabu Lamb Restaurant, recommended dishes: Shabu-shabu lamb and fried sesame cakes;



(5) Hu Xiaoer Charcoal-grilled Frog Hotpot, Recommended: Domineering and Tycoon Hotpot;



(6) Richang Restaurant (Beihai Main Branch), recommended dishes: paper-wrapped chicken wings, clay pot rice;



(7) Manyo Japanese BBQ, Recommended: A5 Wagyu Beef.

Judging from the map on the front page, the questioner mistook Di'anmenwai Street for Gulou Street. In fact, the map has already indicated that there are only Gulou West Street and Old Gulou Street in Beijing now. The one facing the Gulou should be Di'anmenwai Street, and from the perspective of tourism, Old Gulou Street and Gulou West Street have no tourism significance. As a place for tourism, Di'anmenwai Street should be the one. Di'anmenwai Street is a rope that strings pearls. The north end of the rope is the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower, and the south end is the Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan Park. If you climb the Wanchun Pavilion and look north, the magnificent Di'anmen (inside and outside) Street will appear before your eyes. Facing Di'anmen Street, on the left are Beihai Park, Shichahai and Houhai, and on the right are Nanluoguxiang and Yuhe Ancient Road Park. There are many shops on both sides of the street, which is very prosperous. The hutong tour of old Beijing is also carried out in this area. The rickshaw driver will take you through the hutongs and alleys, recognize the palace and tell stories. The Qianhai area has the former residence of Guo Moruo (once the residence of Heshen, the Prince Gong's Mansion was turned into a horse farm and feed storage area in the late Qing Dynasty), the site of Fu Jen Catholic University, the former site of Prince Gong's Mansion (now all returned to the Prince Gong's Mansion Garden), and Houhai has the former residence of Soong Ching Ling and the residences of some old generals.

Beijing's Gulou Street is simple and ancient, with alleys extending in all directions, many time-honored shops and a variety of old Beijing snacks on both sides.

When I came to Beijing, I stayed in a courtyard inn below the Drum Tower. I have to complain about this inn. The sound insulation is quite poor. But I can see the Drum Tower at any time, but it doesn't matter.

I remember it was the Bell Tower or the Drum Tower, right next to Shichahai. There were drum performances there, you can go up and have a look~

I live nearby. The Drum Tower can be said to be the core of the ancient city of Beijing.

To the east is Gulou East Street and Nanluoguxiang.

To the west are Yandaixie Street and Houhai.

Go straight to the south and you will reach Jingshan and the Forbidden City.

I went to high school in Beijing No. 1 Middle School, a middle school located north of Gulou.

I have never taken a photo of Brother Gulou since I was a child, so here I am!

Next to Qianmen Street, let's go shopping together~~~

Gulou Street, moat. There is a small path by the river where you can take a rest or take a walk.

From Nanluoguxiang, you can go to Gulou Street, Yandaixie Street, and Shichahai. It's pretty good. You can eat Hun Dun Hou and Yao Ji Chaogan here. They are both next to Gulou.

Beijing's Gulou Street is simple and heavy, with alleys extending in all directions, many time-honored shops and various old Beijing snacks on both sides. Today, Gulou Street has gradually become fashionable, and the fusion of classic and modern has given Gulou Street a new lease of life. At the intersection of Gulou East Street and Di'anmen Outer Street is the Bell and Drum Tower. The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower stand one after the other and were the timekeeping center of the entire city of Beijing during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The central area of ​​Beijing's Hutong district, with the Bell Tower and Drum Tower as its landmark buildings, can serve as a transit point to various important attractions in the southeast, northwest, and northeast.

Gulou Street is worth a visit. There are many specialty shops, food shops and restaurants along the street. You don't have to worry about being hungry when shopping. It connects Luoguxiang, Bell and Drum Tower, Di'anmen, and is a major transportation route (*^__^*)

Beijing's Gulou Street is simple and ancient, with alleys extending in all directions, many time-honored shops and various old Beijing snacks on both sides. Today, Gulou Street has gradually become permeated with a fashionable atmosphere. The fusion of classic and modern has given Gulou Street new vitality.

Not bad, a bunch of foreigners were having a good time, and one of them approached me in the toilet. I have a photo of him sitting on the seat of a pickup truck on my phone. It's pretty funny.

I used to just take a quick look at the Drum Tower and then leave. Later I thought about going around to the back to see the Bell Tower. I personally like the Bell Tower more.

At first glance it looks shabby and messy, but some of the shops are quite nice. It is connected to Houhai in the west and Nanluo in the east, and there are many tourists.

I have so many wonderful memories, but my favorite is the old alleys on Gulou Street.

There are many famous streets in Beijing with snacks and delicacies.

Nanluoguxiang is no longer worth seeing, and the commercial atmosphere of Beiluo and Wudaoying is becoming increasingly stronger. If you want to experience the hutongs of old Beijing, the area south of Gulou Street Station still retains the flavor of the old hutongs and is very suitable for a walk when the weather is good.

There are east-west alleys such as Guowang, Zhangwang, Guoxing and Guoxiang, which are connected or parallel to each other. This area originated in the Yuan Dynasty and belonged to Jintaifang in the Ming Dynasty. Now there are ordinary houses here, which seem simple but full of the atmosphere of the market.

Located on the central axis of Beijing, there are bell tower and drum tower. The morning bell and evening drum are the time-telling methods of the old Beijing imperial city. Standing on the drum tower, you can overlook the buildings of Beijing. There are also drum performances every day in the drum tower, which is worth a visit.

Going east, you can reach Dongzhimen Guijie Street. Gulou East Street itself has many musical instrument stores and unique shops, which are worth a visit.

The past life of Gulou Street~~~The present life~~~~Gulou Street is simple and heavy, with alleys extending in all directions, many time-honored shops and various old Beijing snacks on both sides. Today, Gulou Street has gradually been filled with a fashionable atmosphere. The fusion of classic and modern has given Gulou Street a new vitality. Shichahai, Beihai Park, celebrity residences and so on are all within easy reach~~~~

I used to pass by here every day when I went to work. It was close to Nanluoguxiang, Yandaixie Street, and Houhai Prince Gong's Mansion.

This area is already very commercial, you can come and have a look

Gulou Street is a very distinctive old alley in Beijing. There are all kinds of special sights related to old Beijing, such as Beijing fans, sugar figurines, ancient costumes, etc. Gulou Street is lined with blue brick and tile houses, which have an antique feel. The decoration of each small shop is very unique, showing the ancient atmosphere.

I went there in August and I don't know why it was not open at that time.

A good Beijing friend took us to Yaoji and had fried liver bean juice. I especially liked the pea yellow.

Take subway Line 2 to Gulou Station, get off at Exit D, cross the road and you will see Gulou Old Street. Walk along Gulou Old Street for about 700 meters and you will see the Bell and Drum Tower. Standing in front of the Drum Tower, the streets on both sides are Gulou Street. This place is named after a group of bell and drum tower buildings. In ancient times, the Bell and Drum Tower was the city's timekeeping station. There are two gatehouse-type buildings here, one is the bell tower and the other is the drum tower, as the saying goes, morning bells and evening drums. You need to buy tickets to climb the Bell and Drum Tower. There are combined tickets or you can buy them separately. After going up, you can see the panoramic view of Beijing. Going in the direction of Gulou East Street, walk about 50 meters to the famous Yaoji Fried Liver Shop. The fried liver, donkey rolls and buns in this shop are particularly delicious and must not be missed. After leaving Yaoji Fried Liver Shop, turn left and you will reach Nanluoguxiang.

The "evening drum and morning bell" made the whole city orderly. It stopped after 1924, and since 1990, the bell and drum have been restored every New Year's Eve. The Drum Tower is a single wooden ancient building. It has gray tiles with green trimmings, double eaves and hip roofs, a total height of 46.7 meters, a total width of 34 meters, and a total depth of 22.4 meters. Under the eaves, there are single-raised and single-curved five-step buckets, which are rotated in colorful paintings. There are eight arched doors on the ground floor of the building; three in the north and south, and one in the east and west. There is a side door on the east side of the north wall, with a stone staircase inside, which is inclined 45 degrees from north to south, with a total of 60 steps, and then turns west, inclined 45 degrees from east to west, and there are also 9 steps, that is, climbing 69 stone steps to reach the second floor. There are six square lattice doors and windows on all four sides of the second floor, and there are corridors around, which are about 1.3 meters wide with wooden guardrails, and the height of the balusters is 1.55 meters. The building area is 1925 square meters. The third floor is a dark floor. The entire building is located on a brick and stone platform about 4 meters high, with a total width of 56 meters and a total depth of 33 meters. There are brick stairs in the north and south, and paved roads in the east and west. The total area of ​​the Drum Tower is about 7,000 square meters. There is a pair of stone lions in front of the south gate, about 1.25 meters high.





The watch drum is a time-telling instrument placed on the second floor of the Drum Tower. Originally, there were 25 drums, including one big drum and 24 small drums (representing the 24 solar terms in a year). Now only one big drum remains. The drum surface of this big drum is about 1.5 meters in diameter and is made of a whole piece of cowhide. However, the drum surface is already covered with knife marks. This was done by the Japanese army when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing in the 26th year of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1900). In those days, the drums in the Drum Tower were beaten to tell time in a certain pattern. At 7 o'clock every night, the drums were beaten twice, for a total of 108 times. After that, the drums were beaten twice for 108 times each watch, until the last "bright watch" drum was beaten at the fifth watch (5 o'clock in the morning). The beating of the drum also has a certain rhythm. To this day, Beijing still has the saying "fast eighteen, slow eighteen, neither fast nor slow and another eighteen". There was originally a copper kettle dripping water on the Drum Tower, but it has long been lost and cannot be traced. It is recorded that: "The bronze clepsydra in the Drum Tower is extremely exquisitely made. According to the legend passed down by the elders, it is an ancient artifact from the early Song Dynasty. It has four bronze clepsydras: the top one is called 'Tianchi', the next one is called 'Pingshui', the next one is called 'Wanfen', and the bottom one is called 'Shoushui'.

I believe that with my current photography skills, I should be able to take a more beautiful picture of the Drum Tower. Unfortunately, these are just old photos, silhouettes of old Beijing.

As the name suggests, Drum Tower is the place where people used to listen to evening drums and morning bells. At the foot of the Drum Tower, at the end of Baochao Hutong, is the famous Yao Ji Chao Gan. Friends who come out of Nanluoguxiang, pass Baochao Hutong and look at the Drum Tower from afar will definitely pass by Sanyuan Meiyuan and Yao Ji Chao Gan on the roadside. If you haven't had breakfast, please visit Hundun Hou next door.

擊鼓表演者氣.力不夠,好像制式應付來賓,上來打擊結束走人,不發一語,也無任何的解說遺憾！

It's still a long walk from the subway station! However, you can take a rickshaw to visit the alleys of Beijing. The drum tower in the alleys is actually quite conspicuous.

Today, Gulou Street is not very popular and the environment is average. There are too many good places in Beijing, and they will fall into decline if they are not maintained properly.

It's also a very busy place, and it's nice to go and see the drum performance.

There are some courtyard houses around Gulou Street, with the bustling Houhai in front and the solemn and quiet Gulou in the back. Here is the oldest hutong in Beijing, which has a somewhat old feel and is completely the style of old Beijing.

There are not many people here, and the transportation is very convenient. It is just next to Guloudajie Station on Line 8, about a 15-minute walk away.

There are always so many people on the Beijing subway, so if you want to take a trip like this, remember to travel light!

Climbing the Drum Tower is a tiring task. There is a steep staircase inside the tower, which is not very high. Only when you reach the second floor of the Drum Tower can you see the old Beijing city, which looks the same as before, but mostly broken walls and ruins. If it weren't for the high-rise buildings in the distance, you would mistakenly think that you have suddenly landed in the old Beijing city more than a hundred years ago.