{"id":12218,"date":"2023-06-30T10:49:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T02:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/?p=12218"},"modified":"2023-07-01T02:56:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T18:56:51","slug":"astronomical-instruments-at-beijing-ancient-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/astronomical-instruments-at-beijing-ancient-observatory","title":{"rendered":"Astronomical Instruments at Beijing Ancient Observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 1900, Field Marshal von Waldersee, as Allied Supreme Commander in China in 1900-1901, was amazed by the ornately made ancient astronomical instruments of Chinese-Western style placed on the top of the castle-like platform of Beijing Ancient Observatory. He ordered to have 5 of the most spectacular astronomical instruments taken to Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1907, all the 5 astronomical instruments were shipped to Berlin and placed on the lawn of the royal garden in Bustan Palace including 1) A New Armilla, built in 1744&nbsp; 2) A Celestial Globe, built in 1673&nbsp; 3) Altazimuth, made in 1672 4) Sexant, made in 1673 5) Azimuth Theodolite, made in 1715. It wasn\u2019t until in 1921 did all the five pieces were returned to Beijing Ancient Observatory under the Item 131 of the Treaty of Versailles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plan your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing tour<\/a>? If you have a passion for Chinese history and ancient astronomy in particular, surely you cannot afford to miss a glimpse of these magnificent astronomical instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walk up the 90 stone steps up to the 14m high castle-like square tower to view these instruments with a backdrop of modern buildings nearby, definitely giving you a strong feeling of timeline and better understanding China\u2019s past, present and future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 14m high castle-like square tower that holds these 8 most magnificent astronomical instruments. Take subway line 1 and get off at the station of Jianguomen, exit from Exit C and you will see the massive tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Climb the 90 stone steps up to the top of the 14m high castle-like square tower<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Clamber-the-90-stone-steps-up-to-the-top-of-the-14m-high-castle-like-square-tower.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"550\" height=\"367\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Clamber-the-90-stone-steps-up-to-the-top-of-the-14m-high-castle-like-square-tower.jpg\" alt=\"Clamber the 90 stone steps up to the top of the 14m high castle-like square tower\" class=\"wp-image-12219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Clamber-the-90-stone-steps-up-to-the-top-of-the-14m-high-castle-like-square-tower.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Clamber-the-90-stone-steps-up-to-the-top-of-the-14m-high-castle-like-square-tower-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Walk up to the top of the 14m high castle-like square tower<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/view-these-instruments-with-a-backdrop-of-modern-buildings-nearby.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/view-these-instruments-with-a-backdrop-of-modern-buildings-nearby.jpg\" alt=\"view these instruments with a backdrop of modern buildings nearby\" class=\"wp-image-12221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/view-these-instruments-with-a-backdrop-of-modern-buildings-nearby.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/view-these-instruments-with-a-backdrop-of-modern-buildings-nearby-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">View these instruments with a backdrop of modern buildings nearby<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New Armilla<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Made in 1744 for the purpose of determining true solar time as well as the right ascension difference and declination of celestial bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-Armilla.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-Armilla.jpg\" alt=\"New Armilla\" class=\"wp-image-12222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-Armilla.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-Armilla-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New Armilla<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Celestial Globe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> Made in 1673 for the purpose of determining the rising and setting time and azimuth of celestial bodies as well as their altitude and azimuth at any other time.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Celestial-Globe.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Celestial-Globe.jpg\" alt=\"Celestial Globe\" class=\"wp-image-12223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Celestial-Globe.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Celestial-Globe-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Celestial Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ecliptic Armilla<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> Made in 1673 for the purpose of determining ecliptic longitude difference and latitude of celestial bodies as well the 24 Solar Terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Altazimuth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> Made in 1672 for the purpose of determining the azimuth of celestial bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Altazimuth.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Altazimuth.jpg\" alt=\"Altazimuth\" class=\"wp-image-12225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Altazimuth.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Altazimuth-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Altazimuth<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Azimuth Theodolite<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> Made in 1715 for the purpose of determining the azimuth and altitude of celestial bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Azimuth-Theodolite.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Azimuth-Theodolite.jpg\" alt=\"Azimuth Theodolite\" class=\"wp-image-12226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Azimuth-Theodolite.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Azimuth-Theodolite-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Azimuth Theodolite<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sexant<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Made in 1673 for the purpose of measuring the angular distance between two stars less than 60 apart as well as angular diameters of the sun and the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sexant.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sexant.jpg\" alt=\"Sexant\" class=\"wp-image-12227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sexant.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sexant-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sexant<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Equatorial Armilla<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Made<\/strong> in 1673 for the purpose of dtermining the true solar time as well as the right ascension difference and declination of celestial bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Equatorial-Armilla.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Equatorial-Armilla.jpg\" alt=\"Equatorial Armilla\" class=\"wp-image-12228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Equatorial-Armilla.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Equatorial-Armilla-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Equatorial Armilla<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,&nbsp; here are some options for Beijing guided tours:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/beijing_day_tour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing Day Tour<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/beijing_package_tour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing Tour Packages<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/beijing_winter_tour\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing Winter Tour<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/beijing_autumn_tour\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing Autumn Tour<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/great_wall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Great Wall Tour<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/car_rental\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Car Rental in Beijing<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing Tours<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/china_city_tours\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China City Tours<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/china-tours\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China Tour<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further Readings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/when-to-visit-beijing-best-time-to-visit-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Best Time to Visit Beijing<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/how-to-plan-a-trip-to-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to plan a trip to Beijing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/top_10_must_see_attractions_in_beijing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top 10 Attractions in Beijing<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/forbidden-city-travel-tips-the-palace-museum-travel-tips\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Forbidden City<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/tips-for-visiting-the-temple-of-heaven\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Temple of Heaven<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/tips-for-visiting-summer-palace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Summer Palace<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/how-to-visit-ming-tombs-in-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Ming Tombs<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/china-travel\/great-wall-of-china\/tips-for-visiting-the-great-wall-of-china-around-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit the Great Wall of China<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/tips-for-visiting-tiananmen-square\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Tiananmen Square<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/the-top-10-hutongs-in-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Hutongs<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/how-to-visit-birds-nest-and-water-cube\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Visit Olympic Sites<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/top-10-beijing-markets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top 10 Markets in Beijing<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/top-10-beijing-shopping-malls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/shopping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beijing Shopping<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/beijing-attractions-tips\/wangfujing-street-a-famous-pedestrian-street-in-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wangfujing Walking Street<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/beijing-attractions-tips\/qianmen-street-a-famous-pedestrian-street-in-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Qianmen Commercial Street<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/night-view-of-gui-jie-in-beijing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gui Jie ( Ghost Street) Food Street<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Any questions, just drop a line.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1900, Field Marshal von Waldersee, as Allied Supreme Commander in China in 1900-1901, was amazed by the ornately made ancient astronomical instruments of Chinese-Western style placed on the top of the castle-like platform of Beijing Ancient Observatory. He ordered to have 5 of the most spectacular astronomical instruments taken to Germany. In 1907, all&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,19],"tags":[2273],"class_list":["post-12218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beijing-attractions-tips","category-beijing-travel","tag-how-to-visit-beijing-ancient-observatory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12218"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31930,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12218\/revisions\/31930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}