Big Bell Pavilion

Big Bell Pavilion

The Bell Pavilion is located in the northeast of Nanjing Drum Tower Square. It was built in the late Qing Dynasty to preserve the bronze bell of Nanjing bell tower. The bell tower in Nanjing, built in the early Ming Dynasty, is located on the west side of the drum tower in Nanjing. It is no longer there.

The bell tower in Nanjing collapsed during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Both the bell and the standing bell were destroyed. Only the sleeping bell was half buried in the earth. In the rich years of the Qing Dynasty, one of the bells was destroyed. In 1889 (the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty), the Jiangning envoy moved the remaining bell to its present site and allocated funds to build a hexagonal pavilion with iron beams and iron pillars to hang it, which is called the iron pillar Pavilion (Big Bell Pavilion). It is one of the famous giant bells in China.

The bell tower in Nanjing was built in 1388 (the 21st year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty). It has two floors. The lower floor is arched and has no beams. The upper floor is double eaves and four slope roofs. It used to be the place to welcome princes and imperial concubines, and the symbol of the capital of Ming Dynasty.

In 1957, Nanjing Bell Pavilion was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province.

brief introduction

The scale of the building is rare in China. It is divided into two layers. The lower layer is arched and has no beams. The upper layer is double eaves and four slope roofs. It is very spectacular. It was originally the place where the Ming Dynasty welcomed the imperial concubine and received the imperial edict to report the time. It was the place where the Ming Dynasty welcomed the imperial concubine and received the imperial edict to report the time. There were two sides of the big drum, 24 sides of the small drum, one side of the cloud plate, one side of the o'clock, four teeth sticks, a copper pot in the pot room, and other musical instruments used to report the time and honor. After the death of Ming Dynasty, these furnishings were lost. The foundation of the present building was originally built in the Ming Dynasty, and the upper building was rebuilt in the late Qing Dynasty. Kangxi came to the drum tower during his southern tour in 1684. The next year, he built a huge stele on the tower and changed it into a stele tower, but the local people still used to call it the drum tower.

Not far from the northeast of the drum tower is the Big Bell Pavilion, in which hangs a red copper bell cast in 1388. In the early years of the reign of Emperor Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, the bell fell down beside the road and half sank into the earth. It was moved here in the late Qing Dynasty, and a hexagonal pavilion with iron beams and columns was built.

The bell is exquisite in quality, beautiful in shape and loud in sound. It has a lotus petal pattern on the top, a cloud pattern and a wavy angle on the beam, and an inscription of "cast on the auspicious day of the 29th year of Hongwu".

Historical evolution

The Bell Pavilion is located in the northeast corner of the Drum Tower Square in the center of Nanjing. In 1382, a drum tower and a bell tower were built. At that time, there were two bells. In the prime of the Qing Dynasty, one was destroyed. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xu Zhenwei moved one of the remaining bells to the current site, and allocated funds to build a hexagonal pavilion with iron beams and columns to hang, namely the Big Bell Pavilion. The bell is made of red copper. It is 4.27 meters high and engraved with the inscription "cast on September 4, Hongwu 21". The clock is 19.60 meters high.

In the Big Bell Pavilion, there is a bronze bell made in 1388. This clock was originally suspended in the bell tower in Jinchuan gate. In the 25th year of Hongwu Period, a sleeping bell was also made. During the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the bell was destroyed here and fell to the side of the road. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was moved here, and a hexagonal pavilion with iron beams and columns was built to hang the Ming Dynasty sleeping bell, namely "Big Bell Pavilion". The bell is exquisite in quality, beautiful in shape and loud in sound. It has a lotus petal pattern on the top, a cloud pattern and a wavy angle on the beam, and an inscription of "cast on the auspicious day of the 29th year of Hongwu".

Located in the northeast corner of the Drum Tower Square in the center of Nanjing, the Bell Pavilion is a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. It is listed as the first of the newly evaluated "forty scenes of Jinling", namely "morning bell in the ancient pavilion". With a long history of places of interest, but also located in the downtown area, the original status of the park is not satisfactory. The park has a total area of 1700 square meters, including 658 square meters of buildings. There is only one entrance and exit in the West. The buildings in the north and East are dilapidated, and nearly 100 families live in low shantytowns. Due to its good location and unique features, it has become a tourist destination for Chinese and foreign tourists. The average annual flow of tourists is 120000, and the number of foreign guests is 10000. The flow of tourists on holidays can reach 4600 person times per day. Many foreign-related activities and negotiation activities are held here. In order to protect cultural relics, beautify urban landscape, expand urban public greening, and improve environmental quality, dazhongting park is expanded and reconstructed in combination with civil air defense project.

geographical position

The Bell Pavilion is located in the northeast of Nanjing Drum Tower Square

Address: Jinci Museum scenic area, Jinci Town, Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City

Longitude: 112.4412192733

Latitude: 37.707831478384

Ticket information: no ticket required. It is included in the ticket of Jinci Museum.

Chinese PinYin : Da Zhong Ting