The Drum Tower was built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan, at which time it stood at the very heart of the Yuan capital Khanbaliq. At that time it was known as the Tower of Orderly Administration (Qizhenglou).

In 1420, under the Ming Emperor Yongle, the building was reconstructed to the east of the original site and in 1800 under the Qing Emperor Jiaqing, large-scale renovations were carried out. In 1924, the name of the building was changed to the Tower of Realizing Shamefulness (Mingchilou) and objects related to the Eight-Power Allied Forces’ invasion of Beijing and later the May 30 Massacre of 1925 were put on display. Nowadays, the upper story of the building serves as the People’s Cultural Hall of the East City District.