Linjiang Bell and Drum Tower

Linjiang Bell and Drum Tower

Bell and Drum Tower: Originally named “Guanyin Temple,” also known as the “Bell Tower,” it is located between Fufu Street and Minzhu Street in Linjiang Town. It has long been compared to the Grand View Tower. The exact time of its initial construction is unknown, but during the early Ming Dynasty, the Grand Secretary Xie Jin once visited Linjiang at night and composed the verse “Wind carries the bell’s chime across the ferry, the moon shifts the tower’s shadow to the river’s heart,” which confirms that the tower existed as early as the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The Bell and Drum Tower stands 30 meters tall and houses a bronze bell (still preserved) weighing over 3,000 jin. During the Republican era, it was bombed by Japanese aircraft, causing the structure to lean. In January 1979, the dangerous tower was demolished, but the base, Guanyin Pavilion, was retained. The bronze bell remained intact, and though some of the inscriptions on the stele had worn away, all were kept inside the pavilion. In 2007, the tower was rebuilt on the original site of the Bell and Drum Tower, largely restoring its former appearance.