Drum towers in European terminology refer to the shape of the round towers often used to corner exterior walls, or to bolster outer defensive walls as they are at Conwy Castle in Wales.
The term Drum tower (Chinese: 鼓楼; pinyin: Gulou) is used to refer to a tower in the center of an old Chinese city, housing signal drums. There was usually also a Bell tower nearby. For individual towers, see:
- Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing) (Drum Tower and Bell Tower of Beijing)
- Drum Tower of Xi'an
- Drum Tower of Nanjing
Drum towers can be found in a number of Buddhist temples in China and other countries of the region.
The drum tower often being located in the symbolic center of a city, downtown districts of several Chinese cities have been named after the tower; see Gulou (disambiguation) for a list.
Famous quotes containing the words drum and/or tower:
“We call ourselves a free nation, and yet we let ourselves be told what cabs we can and can’t take by a man at a hotel door, simply because he has a drum major’s uniform on.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“The tower said, “One!”
And then a steeple.
They spoke to themselves....”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)