Datong Drum Tower, Historical tower in Datong, China.

The Datong Drum Tower is a stone-and-wood structure with three stories built on a solid base. The construction houses an enormous drum inside that once resounded throughout the city.

The Drum Tower was first built in the Ming dynasty, though the exact year is unknown; it was raised to pair with the city's bell tower and to mark the hours. It was repaired under the Qing emperors Shunzhi, Qianlong and Xianfeng. Of the Ming pavilions recorded in the Datong County Gazetteer, only the Drum Tower survives. It was listed as a Datong municipal heritage site on 23 April 1966, repaired in autumn 1978 when its cross-shaped passages were walled up, repainted in 1985, and upgraded to a Shanxi provincial heritage site in 1996.

Each face of the tower carried a pair of plaques: 'Drum Tower' and 'Audible in All Directions' on the south, 'Song of the Wind' and 'Spring Dawn Behind Clouds' on the east, 'Rousing Virtue' and 'Harmonious Sound' on the west, 'Concord' and 'Moon Among Toads' on the north. The originals are lost; today's are modern replacements. A couplet attributed to the Kangxi Emperor once hung on the north pillars.

Access to the upper levels involves climbing steep staircases that require good fitness. The viewpoint from above offers wide views of the surrounding city walls and landscape.

The tower's four sides once carried paired plaques: 'Sound Reaches Afar' to the south, 'Clouds Part at Spring Dawn' to the east, 'Harmony Resounds' to the west and 'Moon Rests on Toad Cloud' to the north. The originals are gone; today's boards are later replacements.