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The Drum Tower is situated in the middle of the city on Southern Song Royal Street and has been well-preserved throughout dynasties. It was used in ancient times to give people the correct time. To ensure everybody could hear it, the tower was always in the center of a city.
It is a two-story stone tower, of which the ground floor is an arch over Royal Street. The second floor embraced a stage that played as washegoulan
(瓦舍勾栏), a place providing entertainment performances.
Dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when China had one of the world’s most prosperous and advanced economies, Chinese people enjoyed going to washegoulan. Believed to be the origin of Chinese theater, the washegoulan is emblematic of the country’s ancient grassroots culture.
“Washe” means houses with tiles and...