The Great Bell at the Bell Tower, Beijing, Details best vie…

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Details best viewed in Original Size. According to plaques in the Bell Tower, the bell (used for announcing the time) was cast during the reign of Emperor Yongle (1360 – 1424) of the Ming Dynasty. The bell is 23ft (7.02m) in overall height with a body height of 18.2ft (5.55m). Its diameter at its lower end is 11.2ft (3.4m) with a thickness varying from 4.7in - 9.7in (12cm - 24.5cm) and a weight of 63 tons. The tower housing the bell has a height of 157ft (47.9m) and a building surface area of 15,900sqft (1,478 s-m). It has double eaves and a hip and gable roof covered in black glazed tile on the top and green glazed trim. The masonry and beam-free arched structure was adopted for fire prevention when the Bell Tower was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. The inner structure integrates Tianjing (parvis), track and propagation of sound. The sound of the bell is more bold, vigorous and log-lasting by the resonance generated by the tower structure. This was a special technique often used in the large-scale architecture of ancient China.