The bell was made by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics and the Big Bell Temple Museum to mark the return of Hong Kong to the motherland on July 1, 1997. The bell is 1.97 meters in height, 1.14 meters in rim diameter and 1,000 kilograms in weight. The front of the bell was cast with the design of the emblem of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. More than 400 characters engraved around the bell form the "Inscription to Admonish the World", recording the history of imperialist aggression against China and the heroic struggle waged by the Chinese people to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and incisively expounding Deng Xiaoping's great concept of "one country, two systems" and his historic contributions to the final settlement of the Hong Kong question. The artistic and imposing shape of the bell follows the traditional style of ancient bells in China. 

After his visit to the Big Bell Temple, Hu Sheng, a noted historian, wrote a poem:

   
          "The bell at the ancient temple is pealing out,

           Celebrating peace and the year of bumper harvest.

           Constantly it implies a message of admonition,

           To guard against arrogance
           and not to spoil all that has been achieved."