Casting of the "China Century Bell", the largest copper bell in China, started Wednesday night at a workshop of the Capital Iron and Steel Complex in Beijing.

The bell, which weighs 50 tons and is 6.8 meters high, will be sed to usher in the new century. It will ring 21 times simultaneously with four other bells located in Shannxi, Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces when the new millennium arrives.

The bell will be decorated with major historical events in China over the past century and inscribed with the Chinese national anthem.