Long ago in a Dong village there was a beautiful, clever girl named Gu Louniang. The head of a group of bandits, Zhang Tulou, who coveted her beauty, sent his underling to tell the villagers to hand over sticky rice, pigs, cows, money and 10 beautiful girls, including Gu. Hearing this, Gu persuaded the head of the village to accept their terms, and when the deadline came, Zhang and his underling were invited to the village and got drunk. At that moment, rataplans sounded throughout the village and villagers, armed with sticks and swords, captured all of the bandits. It was Gu and her friends who beat the water in the barrel to make the rataplans. From that point on, the villagers adopted the custom of constructing drum towers.

As symbols of the Dong ethnic minority, the drum towers have very distinctive features. It is the place where the Dongs hold meetings, rest and throw celebrations. During festive occasions, the Dong people gather together in front of the drum towers to dance and be merry. In the summer, they chat and enjoy the cool weather near the towers; in the winter, they gather around the fireplace to tell stories. Drum towers can be found in Liping, Rongjiang, Congjiang and Tianzhu counties in Guizhou Province.

The saying: Building a drum tower before constructing a building is common among the Dong people. There is at least one drum tower in every Dong's village, and some villages have up to four or five such towers. In the past, cowhide-covered drums were hung in the tower, and when something important took place in the village, a villager would climb to the top of the tower and beat the drum to alert the villagers. In some places, in the case of fire or banditry, villagers beat the drum as a distress signal. When one village beats the drum, other villages respond and the message soon reach villages far away. The senior village head with the highest authority is in charge of the drum tower; only the senior head or persons authorized by him can beat the drum. Different drumbeats inform villagers of various events, such as gatherings, meetings or social occasions when honorable guests arrive for a visit.

The drum tower is usually located at the center of the village and resembles a pagoda. Usually, it is about 20 meters high and has 11 stories. The whole tower is supported by 16 fir pillars. The tower is square at the bottom, and about two or three meters above ground. Other floors are hexagonal, with double-eaved and suspended corridors. As a rule, the tower has an odd number of stories. The center of the tower is broad and flat with an area of about 10 square meters; in the middle are big stone pots, rounded with wooden barriers and benches. The spire of the tower is decorated with calabashes or cranes which bring good luck and peace to the village.

Located in Zengchong Village, 82 kilometers northwest of Congjiang, the Zengchong Drum Tower was first built in 1672 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is a 25-meter-high, 13-storeyed structure. The tower's top two stories are arched structures of exquisite workmanship. On the top floor is a large leather drumthree meters long and 0.5 meters in diameter. It is the largest and oldest drum tower in Guizhou and also a major cultural relic under State protection.