Dong Village Drum Towers

Dong Village Drum Towers

The drum tower is the symbol of a Dong village, known in the Dong language as "Tangka" or "Tangwa." Drum towers come in two types: multi-pillar and single-pillar. The multi-pillar type has four main pillars and twelve supporting pillars, while the single-pillar type is supported by a central pillar standing upright from the center of the tower to the top, with four supporting pillars at the base. Regardless of the architectural style, the top floor houses a communal drum, which is why people call it a drum tower. The towers are designed by the Dong people’s own skilled craftsmen without blueprints. The dimensions of hundreds of beams, pillars, and brackets are all calculated mentally. The entire structure is made of wood, with fir wood pieces carved and fitted together without a single nail or rivet, fitting seamlessly from top to bottom. The drum tower is the symbol of a Dong village, known in the Dong language as "Tangka" or "Tangwa."

Drum towers come in two types: multi-pillar and single-pillar. The multi-pillar type has four main pillars and twelve supporting pillars, while the single-pillar type is supported by a central pillar standing upright from the center of the tower to the top, with four supporting pillars at the base. Regardless of the architectural style, the top floor houses a communal drum, which is why people call it a drum tower. The towers are designed by the Dong people’s own skilled craftsmen without blueprints. The dimensions of hundreds of beams, pillars, and brackets are all calculated mentally. The entire structure is made of wood, with fir wood pieces carved and fitted together without a single nail or rivet. The drum tower is the symbol of a Dong village, known in the Dong language as "Tangka" or "Tangwa."

Drum towers come in two types: multi-pillar and single-pillar. The multi-pillar type has four main pillars and twelve supporting pillars, while the single-pillar type is supported by a central pillar standing upright from the center of the tower to the top, with four supporting pillars at the base. Regardless of the architectural style, the top floor houses a communal drum, which is why people call it a drum tower. The towers are designed by the Dong people’s own skilled craftsmen without blueprints. The dimensions of hundreds of beams, pillars, and brackets are all calculated mentally. The entire structure is made of wood, with fir wood pieces carved and fitted together without a single nail or rivet, fitting seamlessly from top to bottom. The towers use the principle of column and lever support, built layer upon layer. Drum towers can have three, five, seven, nine, or even more than ten stories. They are generally divided into upper, middle, and lower sections.

The upper section is the spire, consisting of a single iron pillar standing at the center of the roof, topped with a ceramic precious bead shaped like a gourd, resembling a falling tip that stands aloft. The roof is mostly umbrella-shaped, with four, six, or eight angles. The middle section consists of stacked floors resembling a pagoda. The tower has four, six, or eight angles, with each corner featuring upturned eaves, adorned with carvings of birds, beasts, and deities, vivid and lifelike. The upturned eaves stack layer upon layer, rising higher and higher. From top to bottom, each layer is larger than the one above, creating a spectacular sight. The wooden boards are painted with dragons, phoenixes, birds, beasts, ancient and modern figures, flowers, fish, insects, and scenes of Dong life and customs—exquisite and colorful. The base is usually square, with wooden benches around the tower for people to sit on, and a circular central hearth in the middle. The unique architecture of the drum towers has attracted attention from experts and scholars both in China and abroad. A United Nations agency once praised: “The distinctive Dong drum tower architecture is not only a treasure of Chinese architectural art but also a treasure of world architectural art.”

The drum tower is a symbol of unity, good fortune, and prosperity in Dong villages, representing collective spirit. Therefore, where there is a Dong village, there is a drum tower—either built by a clan or jointly constructed by several families. There are a total of 321 drum towers in the county. The five drum towers in Zhaoxing Dong Village are the most concentrated and are referred to as the “Dong Village Drum Tower Group.” The Qingzhai Drum Tower in Banzhai Township is the oldest existing drum tower in the county. The single-pillar drum tower in Shudong Village, Yandong Township, is the only well-preserved and uniquely structured drum tower discovered so far. The two drum towers in Jitang Village, Zhaoxing Township, are the most beautifully designed. On February 13, 1982, they were listed as provincial-level key cultural relics protection units. Moreover, the master builders of Jitang are highly renowned. The eight-sided, seventeen-story, 33-meter-high drum tower in Jinquan Lake, Kaili, as well as the drum towers in the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park in Beijing and the China Ethnic Culture Park in Shanghai, were all created by master builders such as Lu Wenli.

Drum towers are often built in the center of the village, together with stages and singing grounds, serving as ideal places for meetings, discussions, and cultural entertainment. Majestic and spectacular, the drum towers are world-renowned, embodying the wisdom of the Dong people and representing the warmest chapter in the scenic tourism life of Liping’s Dong villages. With heartfelt smiles, they stand as representatives of an ethnic group on the beautiful land of China.