The Big Bell Temple, or Dazhong Temple (), originally known as Juesheng Temple (), is a Buddhist temple located on the North 3rd Ring Road in

Haidian District Haidian () is a northwest urban district of Beijing, bordering Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng and Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai. It is in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang), and is home ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The Big Bell Temple was built in 1733 during the reign of the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644-1911). The temple's name came after the famous "Yongle Big Bell" that is housed inside the temple, which was cast during the reign of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...

(1403-1424) of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368-1644). According to a test by the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

, the Yongle Big Bell's sound could reaches up to 120 decibels and can be heard 50 kilometers away from the temple in the depth of night.China tour China Tour
Many music experts, including some from the Chinese Acoustics Institute have found its tone pure, deep and melodious with a sprightly rhythm. Its frequency ranges from 22 to 800

hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

. According to

about.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

: The temple has housed an ancient bell museum, known as Big Bell Temple Ancient Bell Museum (), since 1985, featuring hundreds of bronze bells from temples throughout China.

Gallery

Image:Big Bell Tower.jpg, The temple's bell tower Image:Bell made in Ming Dynasty.jpg, The temple's Ming Dynasty bell Image:Drum Tower of Big Bell Temple.jpg, The temple's drum tower Image:Big Bell Temple Foundation Stone.jpg, Stone inscription Image:Temple of the Big Bell map.jpg, Map of the Ancient Bell Museum Image:Bell Museum Interior.jpg, Interior of the Ancient Bell Museum Bell Temple Garden.jpg, Garden at the Ancient Bell Museum Floor plaque .jpg, Floor plaque showing the distances where the bell can be heard

Footnotes

Buddhist temples in Beijing Religious buildings and structures completed in 1733 Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing 1733 establishments in China National second-grade museums of China {{PRChina-Buddhist-temple-stub