Dengxi' an bell tower

I have been in Xi 'an for twenty years, and I first boarded Xi 'an Bell Tower.

From the labyrinthine underground passage of the bell tower to the entrance, we followed the narrow passage to the platform on the first floor of the bell tower. The first thing that caught our eye was the ancient clock in the northwest corner of the first floor platform. This ancient bronze clock is huge and magnificent, attracting a large number of tourists to take photos with it.

According to records, the giant bell originally hung on the bell tower was the "Jing Yun Bell" cast during Jing Yun's reign in the Tang Dynasty, and it was moved to Xi 'an Bell Tower in the early Ming Dynasty. 1953, the Jing Yun clock was moved to the anbeilin museum in Xi. Later, the Jing Yun clock was copied by the Xi Cultural Relics Bureau and hung here in 1997, which was open to tourists. The imitation Jing Yun clock looks similar to the original clock, with a height of 2.45 meters and a weight of 6.5 tons. The outer diameter of the bell skirt is1.65m.. The ornamentation and inscription are similar to the original clock, and the sound quality is loud and powerful, which can be compared with the original clock. This is the origin of the name of the bell tower.

According to the staff's instructions, we went up the spiral stairs and visited the third floor first. When overlooking the four most distinctive streets in Xi 'an from the top floor, I felt the majestic momentum, prosperity and ancient cultural atmosphere of Xi 'an.

East Street has always been crowded and busy. Over the years, East Street has been synonymous with "prosperity". Foreign tourists must visit the Bell Tower and East Street when they come to Xi. Its bustling scene is no less than Wangfujing in Beijing and Nanjing Road in Shanghai, with long streets and wide roads and many commercial attractions. In recent years, the business model of Dongjie has gradually changed from the original high-end fashion brand to a leisure sports brand, attracting more young people to shop here. In particular, the pedestrian street in Rome near Kaiyuan Mall has a wide range of goods and is favored by young people.

During the day, West Street is shaded by trees, quiet and soft. The buildings on both sides of the street still retain the original features of blue bricks and gray tiles, showing the ancient cultural heritage of West Street. At night, the lights of the Drum Tower are on, and the West Street is another style. Drum tower is like a warm and strong man, welcoming tourists from all over the world. People will follow the passage of the bell tower, pass the Century Golden Flower Mall, enter the small commodity pedestrian street along the street park, and then come to Huimin Square behind the Drum Tower. Anyone who has been to Xi 'an knows that when it comes to West Street, Huimin Square is where most of Xi 'an's delicacies gather. In the evening, Huimin Square is very lively, with all kinds of delicious food, endless stream of tourists, enjoying the happiness from the tip of the tongue.

Compared with the prosperity of East Street and the antiquity of West Street, South Street and North Street are much more common. From the bell tower, the landmark buildings on both sides of the north exit street of South Street are particularly dazzling. Ludong is Kaiyuan Mall, keeping pace with the times. The brightly lit and modern shopping center always attracts the attention of pedestrians. Luxi is a bell tower hotel with the characteristics of the times. Standing quietly on the street corner, it has been used to pedestrians turning a blind eye for many years. These two well-known enterprises many years ago are now in sharp contrast with the changes of the times and the development of the city. This gap can be seen only from the appearance of the building. South Street is not long, but it is also full of shops. Zhong Da International on the main street and Century Golden Flower outside the south gate are the first choices for Xi 'an middle class shopping, which may be related to the financial center outside the south gate.

North Street is relatively quiet, with antique Xi 'an Grand Theatre, May 4th Theatre and Peace Theatre. In recent years, with the development of communication industry, the communication business circle centered on Xihuamen Telecom Building has gradually formed, and North Street has also become lively. With the development of Xi city to the north, North Street presents a scene of vigorous and rapid development.

After seeing four blocks on the top floor, we went back to the second floor along the stairs. Here are some reliefs and some famous photos in modern times. Because of time, we didn't stay here for long.

Going back to the first floor platform, standing here and looking around the street scene is completely different from being on the top floor. The lofty sentiments wandering in the chest are gone, and the majestic momentum around them is gone, replaced by the noise of people and cars whistling by.

Come to the lobby on the first floor, where photos of bell towers in different periods in recent decades are displayed. Although the photos only record the corner of the street, they all reflect the pace of Xi 'an city development. After decades of development, the bell tower has developed from a scene of loess all over the sky and surrounded by low-rise shops to today's modern tourist destination, all of which reflect the development level of modern civilization and high technology.

From one of the photos, I actually saw the Big Wild Goose Pagoda through the bell tower, which surprised me a little. Being in a modern city, I always thought that the Bell Tower and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda were far apart. It is hard to imagine that they were framed together many years ago. The development of the city has brought us convenient transportation and fast-paced life, and also widened the distance between time and space to some extent.

Coming down from the bell tower, night began to fall, without much effort. It's getting dark, and the lights on the bell tower and drum tower are on. Standing in the flower bed of West Street, looking at the clock tower and drum tower which are far apart. They have a unique flavor, and the two floors decorated with colored lights are more charming. In ancient times, there was a saying of "morning bell and evening drum". Nowadays, the bell tower and drum tower set each other off in the light, and the image of the ancient city has been poetic here.