Going Through the Drum Tower 鼓楼
Part of Hangzhou City used to be the imperial capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. Back then it was known as Lin An 临安. Hangzhou City now is much larger than the old imperial city, however parts of it can still be seen here in Hangzhou. Although much of the imperial city has been destroyed, the government has been trying to restore the imperial city to is former splendor. Part of this effort is Hefang Street where a lot of the old houses have been restored and turned into shops in what might be Hangzhou’s busiest pedestrian shopping street. One important landmark of this area is the Drum Tower on one end of the shopping area.
Brightly Lit Drum Tower in Hefang Street
The Drum Tower 鼓楼 looks more like a gate for people in the Southern Song Dynasty to enter the city. Not much of the city walls remain here but the Drum Tower is fully restored. At night there are red lanterns which light up the drum tower, as it just waiting for news to be announced by the drum. The drum inside is reputedly one of the largest drums in China. There is a fee to go up the Drum Tower but by the time we got there, after dinner, the ticket office was already closed. However, the gate to go up the drum tower was open. We didn’t go up the drum tower anyway, lest we be acused of tresspassing.
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