
Introduction
The Ancient Beijing Observatory is located near the heart of downtown Beijing on the south side of famous Chang'an Avenue. When it was originally built, in the Guo Shoujing (1231-1316) period of the Yuan dynasty, it had a slightly different name but the same intent: to explore the heavens.
History & Background
Over the course of more than five hundred years, through Ming and Qing dynasties and on into the period after the Xinhai Revolution (1911), this location has been used to observe phenomena of the skies. This is the longest historical record of using any such observatory for so long. At present, eight large bronze implements for viewing the heavens are arrayed on the top of the museum's tower; these date from the Qing dynasty. Under the tower is a hall built between the years 1442 and 1446, during the Ming dynasty. To the east and west are subsidiary rooms and other ancient structures.
The observatory's platform, rebuilt in recent years, is 17 meters high and holds exhibition rooms inside. If you walk through the door with the three characters for the observatory carved above it, you find a three-level exhibition space devoted to China's ancient astronomical accomplishments. A stone-carved star map from Suzhou is exhibited here, as well as the ceiling astronomical map from Longfu Temple, two rare treasures. The former was done in the Song dynasty in the year 1247. It depicts 1,434 stars and is recognized as one of the best early star maps in the world. The latter was accomplished in the Ming period, but from the characters carved on the side of the map one can see that the underlying information already existed in the Tang dynasty.
Function
In the courtyard of the museum, surrounded by ancient trees, the hall and east gate areas exhibit early astronomical instruments and the methods and changes in making them. In the western chamber some 150 early methods of calculating calendars in China are exhibited.


Archaic as well as more recent astronomical water clocks and contemporary astronomical clocks are exhibited. Eight bronze astronomical instruments are arranged on the top of the platform, as per the Qing-dynasty emperor Qianlong's instructions.


Information
Address: Beijing City, Dongcheng District, Jianguomen Dong Biaobei Hutong,#2.
Telephone: 86-10-65128923
Opening Time: 9:00-11:00, 13:00-17:00(Not allowed to enter inside after 16:00). Closed on Monday and Tuesday
Admission: CNY10 per person
Transportation
By Subway: Take subway Line 1 or subway Line 2 to Jianguomen Station. Get out from Exit C. Then walk for about 220m (250 yards) to the ticket office.
By Bus: Take bus 39, 43, 44, 52, 122, 139, 637, 638 or Special Line 2 or 12 and get off at Jianguomen Nan Station, and then walk north along South Jianguomen Street for 5 minutes there.
Duration:7-8 Hours
Attractions(Cities):Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace
Tour Style:One day, four Beijing essentials — Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace — with a private English-speaking guide and your own air-conditioned car and driver. Itineraries run daily, take 7–8 hours door to door, and can start from your Beijing hotel, a train station or the airport arrivals gate. Your guide walks you through Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) palace courts with real dates instead of legend, then takes you to a genuine local kitchen for Peking Duck — you order, you pay for what you eat, and vegetarian, halal or lighter meals are easy to arrange. Want to fold in Tai Chi at the Temple of Heaven, a hutong morning market, Peking Opera or Hanfu photos? Just tell us; the car and the day are yours.
Duration:2 Days, 1 Night
Attractions(Cities):Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Nanluoguxiang, Mutianyu Great Wall, Summer Palace
Tour Style:Two days, one night, six Beijing essentials — with a private English-speaking guide, your own car and driver, and one overnight in a city-centre four-star. Day one: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (3,400-metre red wall, 980 buildings), a hutong lunch stop, the Temple of Heaven, then evening on Nanluoguxiang. Day two: an early start to the Mutianyu Great Wall — cable car up, optional toboggan down — then the Summer Palace and its 728-metre Long Corridor before drop-off at your hotel, station or airport. Tell us if you want to fold in Peking Duck, 798 Art District, flag-raising at dawn, Chinese acrobatics, a street-snack crawl or Hanfu photos.
Duration:3 Days, 2 Nights
Attractions(Cities):Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Jingshan Park, Summer Palace, Kunming Lake Boat Riding, Nanluoguxiang, Panjiayuan Antique Market, Mutianyu Great Wall, Bird's Nest, Water Cube
Tour Style:Three days, two nights in a city-centre four-star, eleven Beijing essentials and a private English-speaking guide, your own air-conditioned car and a professional driver for the whole trip. Day 1: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (3,400-metre red wall, 980 buildings), Jingshan Park for the north panorama over golden roofs, evening on Nanluoguxiang. Day 2: the Mutianyu Great Wall — cable car up, optional toboggan down — back through the city for a walk around the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube lit up. Day 3: the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace with a boat on Kunming Lake, and a slow hour at the Panjiayuan antique market before drop-off at your hotel, station or airport. Lunch isn’t included — your guide takes you to genuine local kitchens and you pay for what you eat.
Duration:5 Days, 4 Nights
Attractions(Cities):Mutianyu Great Wall, Bird's Nest, Water Cube, Qianmen Street, Morning Market, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Jingshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Nanluoguxiang, Facial Makeup Painting, 798 Art Zone
Tour Style:Five days, four nights in a city-centre Beijing hotel with a private English-speaking guide, your own car and a professional driver. This is the ‘beyond the surface’ version of Beijing — yes, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (3,400-metre red wall, 980 buildings), Jingshan Park for the golden-roof panorama, the Temple of Heaven and the Mutianyu Great Wall are all in, but the tour also threads in a dawn hutong morning market, a face-painting workshop with a working Peking Opera artist, the 798 Art District’s galleries and cafés, an evening at Qianmen pedestrian street, and a slow look at the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube at the old Olympic Park. Lunch isn’t included on purpose — your guide takes you to genuine local kitchens each day and you pay for what you eat. Drop-off on Day 5 at your Beijing hotel, station or airport.
Duration:10+ Hours
Attractions(Cities):Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum
Tour Style:A long but focused day trip to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. Your private English-speaking guide and car meet you at your Xi’an hotel, train station or airport (arrive from Beijing by G-series high-speed rail — 4.5–6 hours, or an early flight if you prefer). Lintong, 35 km east of Xi’an, holds roughly 8,000 life-size clay soldiers, horses and chariots buried with the first emperor Qin Shi Huang around 210 BC and rediscovered by farmers digging a well in 1974 (UNESCO-listed). You’ll cover Pit 1, Pit 2, Pit 3 and the bronze-chariot museum at a proper pace, break for lunch at a local noodle kitchen on your own bill, and finish back at your Xi’an pickup point or the station for the evening train. Total door to door: 10+ hours.
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