Bell and Drum Towers, Xi'an (西安钟鼓楼)

Attraction · Xi’an. Two separate Ming-era towers at the heart of Xi’an, with individual and combined tickets.

Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/xian-bell-and-drum-towers · Data checked 2026-10-06 · Rendered for 2026-10-08 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.

Why go

Xi’an’s Bell Tower stands in the central road junction; the Drum Tower sits a short walk west by the Muslim Quarter. The two towers are distinct buildings but make one compact old-city stop. Exterior views are free from surrounding streets, while entry to the towers is ticketed.

What to do

• See the Bell Tower. Look at the tower from the surrounding pedestrian passages and enter it if you want the elevated city-centre view.
• Walk to the Drum Tower. Continue west to the second tower and the entrance to Beiyuanmen.
• Choose a ticket type. The museum offers individual-tower entry and a Bell–Drum combined ticket; check your actual route before buying.

• Best time: Dusk for the lit exteriors
• Skip if: If short on time, the two exterior views can be done without climbing either tower.

Practical details

• Hours: Daily from 08:30 · closes earlier in winter
• Peak season (01-01 to 10-10), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:30–21:30, last entry 21:00
• Low season (10-11 to 12-31), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:30–18:00, last entry 17:30
• The 08:30–21:30 peak-season hours (1 January to 10 October) come only from Bendibao; the museum’s own notice confirms the low-season hours (from 11 October).
• The peak/low season split for 1 January to 31 March is unclear: Bendibao says the peak season (to 21:30) starts on 1 January, while 安安家的枯叶蝶 (2025-07) says peak runs from 1 April to 10 October and low from 11 October to 31 March.
• Admission: Ticketed · single tower or combined
• Regular single-tower ticket: ¥30
• Bell + Drum Tower combined ticket: ¥50 — Price reported by two Xiaohongshu visitors; a travel-agency blog also says ¥50. The combined price during the display works is not published.
• Concession: Ages 6–18 and full-time students up to undergraduate level (Chinese citizens only) (Chinese ID card or student card)
• Free: Seniors aged 65 and over; children aged 6 or under or 1.2 m and under; people with disabilities; serving and veteran military; police and fire-rescue staff (Chinese citizens only, with original documents; booking still required) (Original valid certificate)
• Tickets are valid for one entry on the day; with the combined Bell + Drum Tower ticket, once it is used for one tower the order cannot be refunded.
• The free and discounted groups on the museum notice apply to Chinese citizens only.
• The ¥30 single-tower price is from a 2018 price-bureau document and the works notice calls ¥30 the “original price”; the combined-ticket price is not stated by the museum (a travel agency blog says ¥50).
• The combined Bell + Drum Tower ticket is ¥50 according to JuiCY_16 (2026-04), 阿繁的懒人日记 (2026-04) and the poster of 西安是不是旅游最贵的城市 (2026-02, “钟鼓楼50”); the museum’s notices do not state the combined price.
• During the display works single towers cost ¥15 each (Bell Tower 11 October–15 November, Drum Tower 1–30 November); the combined-ticket price for that period has not been published.
• Booking: Timed online ticket · 3-day release
• Bell and Drum Towers Museum (西安市钟鼓楼博物馆) — WeChat → search 西安市钟鼓楼博物馆 → ticket · passport: yes
• Ctrip official ticket channel — https://www.ctrip.com/ · passport: yes
• Passport accepted: yes — Holiday notice explicitly says foreign visitors enter passport details.
• Last admission: 21:00 in peak season · 17:30 in low season
• Time to allow: 1–2 hr for both
• Getting there: Zhonglou metro; Drum Tower to the west
• Metro Line 2/6 to Zhonglou (Bell Tower) (钟楼), about 3 min walk
• Show a taxi driver: 西安钟楼，陕西省西安市中心钟楼盘道
• Foreign visitors: Foreign checkout details pending

Not found yet

• transport.metro[0].exit: A station is known, but no reliable exit-to-this-entrance match was found. (searched: Exa web search (Cloudflare), Linkup web search (Cloudflare), Operator or government page (curl), Xiaohongshu)
• hours.seasons[0].rules[0].lastEntry: The peak-season 21:00 last entry appears only on Bendibao, which also starts the peak season on 1 January; a July 2025 blog says peak runs from 1 April. The museum notices read give only the holiday and low-season times. (searched: Exa web search (Cloudflare), Linkup web search (Cloudflare), Operator or government page (curl))

Traveler tips

• Treat these as two buildings. The Bell Tower is in the road junction and the Drum Tower is west near the Muslim Quarter. Decide whether to enter one or both before choosing a single or combined ticket. source
• Enter passport details when you book. The museum’s notice says foreign visitors enter passport information when buying the named online ticket; Chinese citizens enter their ID card. Caveat: The notice asks for original documents only in its concession clauses; it does not say passports are inspected at the gate. source
• Look three days ahead. Online tickets are released three days before the visit according to the museum. The exact release hour is not given in the notice, so check the official account ahead of your date. source
• Use the tower names in Chinese. Search 西安钟楼 and 西安鼓楼 separately in your map. The Drum Tower sits at the Muslim Quarter side; the Bell Tower is across the central road junction. source
• Enjoy the exterior without a ticket. The towers are visible from the surrounding streets and pedestrian passages. You only need a tower admission ticket if you intend to climb inside. source
• Climb the Bell Tower first. A travel-agency blog recommends climbing, especially the Bell Tower, because each of its four sides looks straight down an avenue toward one of the four city gates. It describes the Drum Tower as a blue-brick building on a base about 7.7 m high. Caveat: Blog sells tours; “7.7 m” refers to the base, not the whole building. source
• Free Bell Tower view from Kaiyuan Mall’s 5th floor. Kaiyuan Mall (开元商城) has a free viewing platform on its 5th floor, entered through the passage beside the Li Ning or the Anta/361° sportswear store; the Li Ning side has stairs to higher platforms. It frames the Bell Tower, and the Drum Tower in the same shot only from some spots; the best light is after sunset, about 19:30–20:30. From Bell Tower station use the underground tunnel exit 5. _Caveat: 卡比卡比 (2025-12), JuiCY_16 (2026-04), 野生机位主理人 (2026-04) and Grace (2025-09) describe the platforms; 野生机位主理人 lists platforms on floors 5–8. Unnamed comments say the platforms were closed on 1 January 2026 and on 4 July 2026, and one (2025-10) says the 7th floor was shut and the Drum Tower cannot be pulled into the 5th-floor shot. The older bynowxian blog called it the fourth floor; recent posts say fifth. Opening is not guaranteed._ (4 travelers) source
• Bell strikes at the Bell Tower, drums at the Drum Tower. Bendibao lists the Drum Tower’s percussion shows at 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00 and at 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30. The Bell Tower’s bell strikes 24 times at 09:00, 12:00 and 15:00, and at 18:00 the Drum Tower’s 24 solar-term drums sound together. Caveat: Times from a local-guide page. Whether the bell strikes continue while the Bell Tower exhibition hall is under works (11 October–15 November) is not stated. source
• Winter closing is much earlier. From 11 October the museum switches to winter hours, 08:30–18:00 with last entry at 17:30; from 1 January to 10 October it runs 08:30–21:30 with last entry at 21:00. The longer evening is the reason to come before mid-October. _Caveat: The 08:30–18:00 low-season hours (17:30 last entry) are in the museum’s own notice. The peak-season 08:30–21:30 comes from Bendibao (peak from 1 January to 10 October), JuiCY_16 (2026-04: 08:30–21:30, entry to 21:00; low season from 11 October) and 阿繁的懒人日记 (2026-04: 08:30–21:30). 安安家的枯叶蝶 (2025-07) gives peak as 1 April–10 October and low as 11 October–31 March, which differs from Bendibao for January to March. None of the peak-season times is from the museum._ source
• Both towers are lit up at night. Visitors recommend seeing the Bell and Drum Towers lit at night, when people photograph each other in costume; one stayed in a hotel opposite the Bell Tower and walked to the Drum Tower and the Muslim Quarter in the afternoon. (3 travelers) source
• Discounts are for Chinese citizens only. The free and discounted tickets listed on the museum notice, such as for seniors 65 and over, young children and students, apply only to Chinese citizens. Foreign visitors, including seniors and children, buy a standard ticket. Caveat: The notice ends its concession list with “the above preferential policies are for citizens of the People’s Republic of China only”; it does not say whether foreign children or students may get any discount. source
• One entry per ticket, and used combined tickets cannot be refunded. All tickets are valid for one entry on the day. With the Bell + Drum Tower combined ticket, once it has been used for one tower the order cannot be refunded, so do not buy it unless you plan to enter both. source
• Climb or just photograph from outside?. Opinions split on paying ¥30 to climb. JuiCY_16 (April 2026) says skip it: the tower interior is small and the view from outside and from the mall platform is better. Xavier (2025-06) also says no need to climb the Bell Tower. Maria (2023), a Xi’an local who had thought it pointless, changed her mind after climbing and says to go up if you have time. Caveat: Three single-visit opinions; Maria’s post is from 2023. The towers’ interiors close for display works in autumn 2026 (see updates). (3 travelers) source
• Tea-shop window for the “Xi’an” photo. A bubble-tea shop (霸王茶姬) by the Bell Tower underground square has windows on its 2nd and 3rd floors that frame the Bell Tower; the first window on the 3rd floor also shows a large “西安” sign. It is busy and the 3rd floor closes about 20:00. Caveat: 阿繁的懒人日记 (2026-04) went at 10 a.m. and found it quiet; Grace (2025-09) went in the afternoon when there was a queue and a quarrel; 酒酿圆子 (2025-08) says the 3rd floor closes at 20:00. You do not have to buy a drink, but the poster did. (3 travelers) source
• Bell Tower station Exit C, then the tunnel. Bell Tower station Exit C (Lines 2 and 6) leads into the underground ring tunnel that surrounds the tower; from Exit E the tunnel exit 5 reaches Kaiyuan Mall. You enter the Bell Tower itself from inside the tunnel, not from the street. _Caveat: JuiCY_16 (2026-04) says Exit C; 卡比卡比 (2025-12) says Exit E then tunnel exit 5; 夏天的风 (2025-08) says the entrance is from Line 2 tunnel exit 7. Two older posts also name Exit C. No exit is given for this entry because only one recent visitor names Exit C._ (3 travelers) source

Sources

• Xi’an Bell and Drum Towers Museum (published 2026-09-21)
• Xi’an Development and Reform Commission (published 2018-08-20)
• Xi’an Bell and Drum Towers Museum (via Xi’an Cultural Heritage Bureau) (published 2026-09-30)
• bynowxian.com (published 2025-02-05)
• Xi'an Bendibao (西安本地宝)
• Watts_DaPlann (published 2025-10-30)
• Last_Employer_7156 (published 2026-01-25)
• emutz10 (published 2026-09-15)
• Wikipedia
• 卡比卡比 (published 2025-12-06)
• JuiCY_16 (published 2026-04-27)
• 野生机位主理人 (published 2026-04-19)
• Grace (published 2025-09-14)
• Xavier (published 2025-06-10)
• Maria.娅 (published 2023-06-03)
• 阿繁的懒人日记（努力版） (published 2026-04-03)
• 酒酿圆子 (published 2025-08-20)
• 夏天的风 (published 2025-08-06)
• 安安家的枯叶蝶 (published 2025-07-19)
• 想绕远路回家（装修版） (published 2026-02-18)

More places

• More in Xi’an: Great Mosque of Xi'an, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
• Book ahead: what to reserve before you go