The Bell Tower (Zhonglou) of Beijing, China
Posted by: 
Yuriko*
N 39° 56.547 E 116° 23.751
50S E 448386 N 4421544
The bell in this tower is the largest and heaviest in China
Waymark Code: WMETQ8
Location: China
Date Posted: 07/06/2012
Views: 13
Zhonglou, the Bell Tower of Beijing, stands closely behind the Drum Tower. Together with the Drum Tower, they provide an overview of central Beijing and before the modern era, they both dominated Beijing's ancient skyline.
Hanging on an eight-square wooden frame of the second floor, the bell in this tower is the largest and heaviest in China. It is 7.02 meters (23 feet) high including the pendants, with a weight of 63 tons (138,891 pounds). The bell was made of copper, and you can hear its round and clear sound from far away. The two 2-meter-long (2 yards) wooden logs hanging sideward are used to ring the bell.
Bells and drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used by government and common people as timepieces. The Bell and Drum Towers were the center of Chinese chronology during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. They continued to function as the official timepiece of China and government 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.
(Source:
Wikipedia and
travelchinaguide.com)