The term Drum tower is used to refer to a tower in the center of an old Chinese city, housing signal drums

Drum (communication)

Developed from hollow tree trunks, and used by cultures living in deforested areas, drums served as an early form of long distance communication, and were used during ceremonial and religious functions.-Pressure drum:...

. There was usually also a Bell tower

Bell tower

A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

 nearby. For individual towers, see:

• Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing) (Drum Tower and Bell Tower of Beijing)
• Drum Tower of Xi'an
  Drum Tower of Xi'an
  The Drum Tower of Xi'an , located in the heart of Xi'an in Shaanxi province of China, along with the Bell Tower it is a symbol of the city. Erected in 1380 during the early Ming Dynasty, it stands towering above the city center and offers incredible view of Xi'an.The Drum Tower got its name from...
  
  
• Drum Tower of Nanjing

Drum towers can be found in a number of Buddhist temples in China and other countries

Sinosphere

In areal linguistics, Sinosphere refers to a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a majority of Chinese population or were historically under Chinese cultural influence...

 of the regions as well.

The drum tower often being located in the symbolic center of a city, downtown districts of several Chinese cities have been named after the tower; see Gulou (disambiguation) for a list.