Bell and Drum Tower, Xiangyun, Cultural heritage site in Xiangyun, China.

The Bell and Drum Tower, Xiangyun, stands at the crossing of four streets in the old town centre. It is about 25 metres tall over four storeys: the lower two square, the upper two octagonal. The lowest level, 11.15 metres long, has four wooden columns and doorways on all four sides, each with a stone plaque: "辉联东壁" east, "彩焕南云" south, "瑞启西垣" west, "恩承北阙" north. Yellow glazed tiles crown a gourd-shaped finial.

The tower was first built in 1386, the 19th year of the Ming Hongwu era, and was repaired several times during the Ming and Qing dynasties and again in 1916. It was damaged during the Cultural Revolution, when calligraphy, paintings, doors, windows and beam-head decorations inside were destroyed, and the county government funded repairs in 1986. On 19 April 1936, the 18th Regiment of the 6th Division of the Chinese Red Army's Second Army Corps, commanded by Cheng Jun and political commissar Yang Xiushan, took Xiangyun county town, with the tower as its high point.

The tower stands where the four main streets of the old town meet, and its four ground-level doorways carry stone plaques: "Hui Lian Dong Bi" east, "Cai Huan Nan Yun" south, "Rui Qi Xi Yuan" west and "En Cheng Bei Que" north. A bell, drum and water clock once kept time here.

The tower stands at the crossing of the four main streets of the old town, with a doorway opening onto each street. The ground floor is supported by four wooden pillars and measures 11.15 metres on each side. Look for the stone plaques above the four doorways, inscribed with the names of the directions.

The tower's four ground-level doorways each carry a stone plaque with a different inscription: "辉联东壁" to the east, "彩焕南云" to the south, "瑞启西垣" to the west and "恩承北阙" to the north. Look up to read them as you pass beneath.