The Bell Tower was built in 1384 during the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of Ming Dynasty as a way to dominate the surrounding countryside and provide early warning of attack by rival rulers. At first it was lying in the center of Xi'an City. In 1582, the city when through an expansion so the location of the Bell Tower changed. People then rebuilt a bell tower in the center of expanded city.

The tower base is square and it covers an area of 1,377 square meters. It is 8.6 meters high and 35.5 meters wide and built completely with green bricks. The tower is a brick and timber structure and 36 meters high.  The Bell Tower echoes with the Drum Tower and is half of kilo mile away from each other, but the situations of morning bell and evening drum no longer existed. Nowadays, only the Bell Tower is giving the time. Not too many people know the Bell Tower has taken charge of different kinds of tasks since this century. In the Revolution of 1911, it once used as a bureau of telephone. In 1927, it used as a cinema and in 1928, it was a planetarium. During the Anti-Japanese War, it was once as a meteorological observatory and a warning platform, a prison, and so on. The Bell Tower definitely deserves a visit on your trip to Xi'an.