Ninety-seven sets of French bells, from the Celtic Gaule period (about from 1200 BC - 800 BC) to AD 2000, are now on display at Beijing's Ancient Bell Museum in Dazhong Temple until September 3. Included in the collection is the bell from Bastille prison, the storming of which marked the start of the French Revolution in 1789.

The French bell exhibition is part of a series of programs to celebrate French Culture Year in China.

Wu Zhiyou who takes charge of the Ancient Bell Museum, said, in addition to the bells, there are also 16 historical texts documenting the French Revolution, five paintings on the revolution, a disc of music that defined France in 1789, and three history documentaries that record the sights and sounds of some of the items on display.

Alain Jouffray, director of the European Academy on Bell Art, said the big clock of the Bastille still works well. The two little bells on the top chime every quarter of an hour, and the big bell below chimes every hour. But because the bells are national relics, they only chime to commemorate important dates in France.

But the academy is making an exception for the exhibition. The bells will chime twice in Beijing: once during the exhibition's opening ceremony on June 2; and the other on July 14, France's National Day.

Ticket prices for the exhibition remain unchanged at 10 yuan (about US$1.2).

(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, June 2, 2005)