China: Beijing Ancient Observatory

We visited the Beijing Ancient Observatory after our look around the Forbidden City. This observatory was built in 1442 during the Ming Dynasty, and is one of the oldest observatories in the world, predating the telescope.

Toolman poses by one of the guard lions.

Princess shows another guard lion.

Toolman plays the fool with a dragon claw, which is part of an Amillary Sphere in the ground level courtyard.

Princess shows her jazz hands as we look around the museum.

This is an old compass.

The bulk of the actual observatory hardware is atop a 15 meter tall brick platform.

This is the view from the top.

The various instruments on top.



This is a large quadrant, for measuring angle in the sky.

This is another Amillary Sphere, showing the celestial sphere and its orientation.

After such a long day, we headed back to our hotel for some well deserved rest.