What can you do in 72 hours?
The Nightwatch Walking Tour is Here to Stay!
The hutongs are dark and full of shadows… But fear not! Even though our sold-out public tours have concluded, Beijing’s Banner Watchmen remain committed to keeping you safe after nightfall.
Wall Walkers Rejoice! Simatai Great Wall Reopens
5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Drum and Bell Towers
Duung…Duung…Duung…Duung. That, readers, is the sound of the mighty Drum and Bell Towers, Beijing’s bastions of time-keeping, sounding out the nightly curfew in the Qing dynasty. These twin towers of power are at the heart of our latest Limited Edition Public Walking Tour with Beijing Postcards, The Nightwatch.These incredible structures have survived waves of upheaval over the centuries, but how much do you really know about them? Test your knowledge with our 5, little-known facts below.
1. The Bell Tower used to be a cinema
Making The Nightwatch – Video Shorts
The team of historians at Beijing Postcards has been researching for months to uncover new facts and original material for our brand new Nightwatch Limited Edition Public Walking Tour.
By piecing together clues from old newspaper archives, academic books in Chinese and other languages, diaries, and interviews with local experts – even ordinary citizens with long memories – they have built up a fascinating picture of nighttime Beijing during the late Qing Dynasty. At a time when a strict nightly curfew was in place, former soldiers of the Eight Banner Army (otherwise known as The Nightwatch), would patrol the streets to the beat of the Drum and Bell Towers.
New Limited Edition Public Tour: The Nightwatch
Bespoke is bursting with excitement about our latest Limited Edition Public Tour in collaboration with the amazing, fascinating history peeps at Beijing Postcards, which will take place on six evenings only from late April to May. We’ll tell you more in the next Urban Edit but for now, here’s a teaser…