Xiangyun Bell and Drum Tower

At the exact intersection of East, West, South, and North streets in Xiangyun Ancient City stands an approximately twenty-five-meter-tall sentinel of wood, brick, and stone. Built in 1386 during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Xiangyun Bell and Drum Tower began as a military watchtower for the Erhai Wei garrison. For centuries, the rhythmic dripping of its clepsydra and the deep resonance of its bronze bell and drum dictated the daily lives of the townspeople.

The architecture shifts as it rises. The lower two stories form a square, and the upper two levels transition into an octagonal shape. At the base, four massive wooden pillars support an 11.15-meter square footprint. Four arched pedestrian gateways pierce this foundation, each bearing a stone plaque with poetic directional inscriptions: “Huilian Dongbi” on the east, “Caihuan Nanyun” on the south, “Ruiqi Xiyuan” on the west, and “Encheng Beique” on the north.

Climbing to the second story, visitors walk on a rough, brick-paved floor. Circular windows on this level frame views of the old city. Above, the third and fourth stories feature external eave-supporting pillars and curved wooden block capitals, with traditional bracketing that reflects centuries of architectural evolution. At the very top, beneath a decorated caisson ceiling, the roof is clad in yellow glazed ceramic tiles, crowned by a glazed, gourd-shaped finial.

Today, it stands as a protected landmark: first listed as a county-level cultural relic in 1983, it was later elevated to a provincial-level protected site in December 2003, holding the memories of garrison soldiers, revolutionary fighters, and generations of townspeople.