Performance on the Drum Tower, a photo from Shaanxi, Central

Photographer's Note

The more that visitors will enjoy are musical performances on the Drum Tower.
These performances will enlighten one on the power of ancient Chinese culture.

The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell tower across the Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square. Both of them are called the 'sister buildings' or 'morning bell and dark drum'. In ancient China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency situations.

The Drum Tower in Xian was initially built in 1380 during the reign of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was renovated twice in 1699 and 1740 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is a two-storied post and panel structure, 34 meters (about 112 feet) high and 52.6 meters (about 172 feet) long from east to west as well as 38 meters (about 124 feet) wide from north to south. The architecture style of the Drum Tower is a combination of the styles of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Qing Dynasty. However, the Drum Tower also has some innovative features. For example, it should be mentioned that there is no iron nail used anywhere in the Drum Tower.

Arriving at the Drum Tower you will see that there is an arched doorway in the centre of the south and north walls, doorway being 6 meters (about 20 feet) in both height and width.The north entrance leads to Beiyuan Men and south to Xi Dajie. Visitors can go upstairs to the second floor, and enjoy the views around the Drum Tower. Meanwhile, you will notice that there are twenty-four drums in the north and south sides of the Drum Tower. These drums stand for the Twenty-four Solar Terms,which is a kind of weather calendar created by the Chinese ancients in order to guide the agricultural production.

In modern times, the Drum Tower is not used as a timer any more, but there are some new attractions for visitors to enjoy. In the year of 1996, a new drum, covered by a whole piece of cowhide was given a place on the Drum Tower. It is the biggest drum in China at present.
When you finish visiting the Drum Tower, you may round off your trip, by tasting a number of delicious snacks of Shaanxi in the Moslem Street (Huimin Jie) adjacent to the Drum Tower

Copyright © - This photograph is an intellectual property of its author,and is strictly forbidden, the reproduction,modification, or exploitation for any way,thus is protected by the Law. The use or reproduction by any way without previous written authorization of the photographer is strictly prohibited.For more please contact: danosdanos@gmail.com

pajaran, geoant68, ChrisJ, lousat, claudeD, ikeharel, jlbrthnn, amaryllis, bayno, patdeph, kato, Budapestman, jusninasirun, pierrefonds, Sonata11, Graal, kordinator, axiotea, shevchenko, clic, adramad, raszid62, baddori, mvdisco, sacimar, Cricri, josepmarin, Vasa, siolaw, nobuikehonda, Angshu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (36224) 2012-02-20 23:55

Dobar dan.
Vrlo interesantan i dobra tekst sa datim podacima i istorijom ...
Dobar trenutak snimka predstave sa umetnicima i lepom binom sa zvonima i dekoracijom.
Dobar rad, ostrina snimka i prikaz, lepe boje.
Sve najbolje sa lepim secanjem na predstavu i 2007. godinu.
Imajte lep i uspesan dan.
Srecno.
Paja.

Google.

Good afternoon.
Very interesting and good article with the given data and history ...
Good time recording performances with artists and beautiful stage with bells and decoration.
Good work, recording and display sharpness, nice color.
All the best with beautiful memories of the play and 2007. year.
Have a nice and successful day.
Good luck.
Paja.

geoant68 (3450) 2012-02-21 0:21

Δάνο καλημέρα,
πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα και παραδοσιακή πρέπει να ήταν η παράσταση που είδες και κατέγραψες με τον φακό σου στο Drum Tower.Μου αρέσει ο εξαιρετικός φωτισμός όπως οι μουσικοί που με τις παραδοσιακές τους στολές συμμετέχουν της παράστασης.

Πέτρος

mauro61 (52527) 2012-02-21 0:24

ciao Danos,
hai ripreso la scena molto bene dando a noi la sensazione di essere sul posto.
La resa dei colori è buona come pure la definizione considerando l'ambiente chiuso.
Un gran bel lavoro.
buona giornata
maurizio

krzychu30 (8873) 2012-02-21 0:31

Hello Danos,
fantaastic interior shot with great attention for all details.You´ve managed to control the light perfectly and colors are also nice captured,so naturally.Excellent work!
Have a nice day
Krzysztof

papagolf21 (76561) 2012-02-21 1:00

Bonjour, cher ami Danos,
Voilà une image très intéressante et qui a toute sa place sur le site.
De plus, l'effet d'espace apporte au spectacle un plus considérable.
Très bonne réalisation.
Amitiés.
Philippe

ChrisJ (86862) 2012-02-21 1:20

Δάνο καλημέρα,

You were lucky! There was nothing happening at either the Drum or Bell Towers when I visited Xian in 2007. Good warm cold color contrasts between the red & blue with superb sharpness. The musicians animate the scene. Excellent light contrasts & graphism. Tfs!

aliabazari (10105) 2012-02-21 1:57

Hi Danos ...
Tradition and philosophy of Chinese combined with Greek well. A good combination of colors, beautiful drawings. Excellent

Fis2 (73100) 2012-02-21 2:03

Witaj Danos!
Interesting interior.
Good frame, colors and light.
Photo has climate.
Nice day
Krzysztof

lousat (57626) 2012-02-21 2:23

Hi Danos,a very interesting and colorfull moment from your chines trip,spectacular quality of details,not easy in difficult situations of light like that!Have a nice day and thanks,LUCIANO

claudeD (24173) 2012-02-21 4:26

Hello Danos,

Very fine picture showing much details and a perfect sharpness. I like your informative note very much. Good contribution to TE.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC

jmdias (45790) 2012-02-21 5:08

danos

interesting so many details of this event. I liked the framing and the control of the light here. well done, under difficult conditions.

hugs

jorge

ikeharel (37316) 2012-02-21 6:06

Kalimera Danos,
An incredible on-stage scenery with perfect light and colors applied, "busy" picture with so many objects, and good clearity.
My cong.'s on this masterpiece.
Ike

mesutilgim (67960) 2012-02-21 6:29

Hello dear Danos,
Wonderfull interior capture from China.
Very good layout and perfect light management.
With many interesting and usefull notes as perfect TE entry.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

dkmurphys (36801) 2012-02-21 7:18

Hi Danos,
Very fine capture with this artistic moment. Fine atmosphere, very well taken.
Enjoy the day.

Daniel

jlbrthnn (79773) 2012-02-21 7:37

Hello Danos,
The note is useful to understand this scene. The beautiful setting is imaged. The exposure is excellent. Many details and accurate colors and pleasing. Bravo.
Have a nice day.
Cordially
Amicalement
Joël

amaryllis (30149) 2012-02-21 7:48

Bonjour Danos
merci de ta note qui nous apporte les explications sur cette prise de vue où le résultat est excellent
bravo
juliette

bayno (16195) 2012-02-21 9:08

Ciao Danos,
interesting event in traditional dress, congratulations for your firm hand only 1/15, very nice tones and warm lighting, good evening,
Valter

eldancer1 (17036) 2012-02-21 9:16

I like the colorful stage. Nice capture of this performance. Good dof with nice details even for an evening shot. Very well done, tfs.

patdeph (35738) 2012-02-21 9:22

hello Danos
superb scene, full of details, very well framedn with a very interesting note.
regards
Pascale

kato (6767) 2012-02-21 12:07

Hello Danos,

You're capturing well musical performances on the Drum Tower by a good composition and excellent tone/clarity, so it's interesting and impressive to see the players who wear the clothes of those days and which are playing the musical instrument of the whistle. The stage is gorgeous and it is dignified. It is interesting to have arranged equipment like the bell and picture of rows of houses of those days to the back of the stage. Also from this photograph, Chinese people look like red color traditionally.

Kind regards,
mikio

Budapestman (82620) 2012-02-21 13:04

Hi Danos,
a superb shot with spectacular composition and splendid details, great lights and POV, Tfs! Have a nice evening! Kellemes estét kívánok!
György

jusninasirun (17138) 2012-02-21 16:19

Hello Danos,
Beautiful stage captured and you have metered the exposure beautifully under the low light. I like the colors and ambiance in this sharp image.
Thanks and kind regards,
Jusni

pierrefonds (48347) 2012-02-21 18:38

Hi Danos,

You have captured well the action at the Drum Tower. RThe point of view is shoeing the details aof the performance. Using a slow shutter speed has a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Sonata11 (28331) 2012-02-21 19:37

Hello Danos,
what a wonderful composition of interior, beautiful picture from fantastic place, lovely light and atmosphere, vivid colors, very good clarity of so many details and great sharpness, excellent POV. I like it
All the best,
Barbara

Graal (88886) 2012-02-21 23:25

Kalimera Danos,
an interesting scene and informations. Nice photo from Your archive. I like the decorative elements and costumes of musicans. Photo well done.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

kordinator (13411) 2012-02-22 1:29

Hello Danos
Wonderful image from archive.
Excellent way to show a piece of Chinese culture.
Nice presentation of this musical performance.
Perfect exposure,nice colors and light on this podium.
Nicely written history of place.
Fantastic composition.
Warm regards
Saša

axiotea (21647) 2012-02-22 1:51

Geia sou Danos
An interesting note to go with that picture! You've framed well the scene, including some tables in FG.
Many details to look on the stage! I think the stringed instrument on the left side is called "Zheng".
Only the sound is missing ;)

Se xereto
Marilyn

shevchenko (18243) 2012-02-22 2:39

Hi Danos,
Nice to see different types of Chinese music instruments on the stage, the Bian Zhong in background is attracted my sight, it is an ancient royalty music instrument and just few set unearthed yet, interesting composition, distinct indoor photo, good shoot.
Ally

danyy (0) 2012-02-22 4:37

Bonjour Danos,
cela manque juste un peu de définition, mais sous de telles lumières et des temps de pose plus élevés, pas toujours facile d'avoir du tout net.
Un clin d'oeil à un autre art qu'est la musique.
Amicalement.
Daniel.

clic (11001) 2012-02-22 7:00

That is an exciting view to my eyes, Danos; I appreciate so much drum beats and have now the impression of having the best seat for an exciting concert in this exotic room depicted with minute interesting details!
Se xereto.
Robert

adramad (27552) 2012-02-22 7:31

Hello Danos.
A magnificent composition, with the image showing the total stage with the musicians in full concert, an image that takes us to the charm and atmosphere of ancient China, both for costumes and instruments like the ambience.
Perfect sharpness and color in this picture perfect.
Have a great evening.
Best regards.
Luis.

raszid62 (18200) 2012-02-22 9:00

Καλημέρα.
Ενδιαφέρουσες κινεζική εικαστική σκηνή, η οποία λαμβάνει χώρα κατά πάσα πιθανότητα σε Re¹taurácia, όπως φαίνεται στους πίνακες. Όμορφη, ζωντανά χρώματα και πολύ καλή ποιότητα. Ως μέρος, μου αρέσει πραγματικά κινεζική λαϊκή μουσική.
Δικός σου.
Joseph

baddori (18988) 2012-02-22 9:46

Dan
La tradizione cinese è molto più radicata di quella giapponese .
Ottima foto e interessante nota .
Drum e fiati , suoni che sembrano nell'aria ....percussioni su pelle e rintocchi metallici .
Ottimo.
GF

ciakgiak (30329) 2012-02-22 13:28

Ciao Danos,
Un chiarissimo esempio di eccellente foto di interni, una resa eccezionale ci permette di entrare nella scena, i colori sono fedeli grazie ad una superba qualità.
Un caro abbraccio
Giorgio

mkamionka (24529) 2012-02-22 14:07

Hi Danos,
beautiful presentation. I like very much the exposition, in spite of the difficult light conditions you have captured a very high quality photograph. Very attractive colors and a pleasant symmetry with for musician equally distributed in the frame.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing,
M

mvdisco (16456) 2012-02-22 20:21

Hi Danos,
Nice details and great contrast and light with a sharp presentation of the Drum Tower in Xian,
Excellent point of view and great colorful stage,
Nice notes of the sujet..
very well done.
Michel

jemaflor (68913) 2012-02-22 23:13

Hi Danos,
Well captured, good sharpness and perfect light, colors are very pleasant, interesting shot, tfs.

cavli (1874) 2012-02-23 1:24

Hello danos,

very good colors! very sharp and brillant quality indoor shooting. well done.
tfs
regards..

jurek1951 (35765) 2012-02-23 5:23

Hi Danos,
Excellent contrast and presentation,
good colors and sharpness.
Excellent point of view,
well done.
Georg

sacimar (25957) 2012-02-23 5:49

Hello Danos,

good and different image, I like the scene, the bells catch also my attention, the light management is well done here, nice job,

Best regards,

Sergio

Cricri (86431) 2012-02-23 11:09

Hi Danos
On a l'impression d'être sur place et d'admirer tout les détails et couleurs de la scéne, intéressante note, belle réalisation
Belle soirée
cricri

boa (4313) 2012-02-23 14:19

Hi Danos,
China is interesting in many aspects, musical performance is one of them. Unfortunately i was in China for a short time and could not see much. But i will spend much more time in China in the future!
Fantastic interior with so much to see, i like your fine exposure here. Crisp and clear with good colors, a good note also, Tfs!
Have anice evening.
Boa

josepmarin (55027) 2012-02-24 4:14

Hi Danos,
a good capture inside this Drum Tower, executed skilfully without tripod by means of a good control of the exposure time, with which you have reached a high quality in the colors and a great sharpness.
The ensemble has a great graphical wealth and is a good sample of the culture and the Chinese traditions.
An excellent work, my friend.
Best regards,
Josep

Afsanehbagheri (3206) 2012-02-24 4:43

سلام دوست من

ترکیب جالب و رنگ خوب

Yiannis84 (2824) 2012-02-27 11:34

Γεια σου Δανέ..

Εξαιρετική φωτογραφία από μια πολύ παραδοσιακή παράσταση στην Κίνα! τα χρώματα, το φως και τα παραδοσιακά κουστούμια είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρων..μου αρέσει η ιδέα! είναι κάτι ξεχωριστό..καλή δουλειά!

χαιρετίσματα...Yiannis

Vasa (15970) 2012-02-28 16:20

So perfect picture, dear friend Danos. With your EOS5D you can do what you want. Happy for you,

Branko

TopGeo (37994) 2012-03-01 11:05

Γειά σου Δάνο!
Μου αρέσει η εργασία σου εδώ στο σύνολό της, Αλλά θα σου πω πάλι όπως είπε ο Γκόγκολ. Η λειτουργία τής εικόνας, είναι να εκφράσει την ίδια τη ζωή, όχι ιδέες ούτε απόψεις. Δεν σηματοδοτεί τη ζωή, δεν τη συμβολίζει, παρά τής δίνει σάρκα και οστά, εκφράζοντας τη μοναδικότητά της.
Χαιρετισμούς
Γεώργιος

siolaw (37568) 2012-03-02 1:47

Geia sou Dano
Interesting view of the stage with static performers, it is a nice glimpse of Chinese culture.
Good light management for this inside shot.
Greetings
Laurent

nobuikehonda (3846) 2012-03-08 7:30

Hello Dear Danos!

The colourfulness of the image reflects the type of music performed at this place. I have never been to China, but China possesses one of the most amazing long cultural histories. I am certain that the music performed here must have been very captivating and enriching. I wonder how long you stayed in China. I admit that there are simply too many places in this world that I would like to visit. China is so close from where I am but at the same time the country remains very far from where I am at the moment. With the photograph taken frontally in relationship to the stage and the musicians, it conveys very nicely the ambience involved. The perfectly exposed interior photo brings us an experience almost as good and realistic as actually being there. The photo is an invitation to us all.

With my very best and kindest regards,
Have a very productive day, Danos,
Thank you,
Nobu.

Angshu (51174) 2012-06-13 2:01

Hello Danos
Interesting picture of the stage show. Lovely details to be seen especially on the BG wall of the stage. The 4 actors have been well illustrated in the frame. Well done!
Regards
Angshu

Photo Information

Copyright: Danos kounenis (danos) (73974)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-03-16
Camera: Canon EOS 5 D, Canon Zoom EF 24-105mm 1:4mm L IS USM, HOYA Pro1 Digital 77mm MC UV
Exposure: f/4, 1/15 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: China-Hong Kong
Date Submitted: 2012-02-20 23:41