The Ancient Observatory in Beijing is believed to have been built during the Ming Dynasty, around 1442. The observation tools found in the observatory were all used during the pretelescopic era of astronomy, or the era before Galileo used the telescope in his observations. The whole Ancient Observatory covers an area approxiamtely 1,000 square meters. The platform of the observatory is almost 18 meters high, 24 meters long and 20 meters wide. There is a total of 8 bronzed instruments on the platform used for observing the heavens. Those who love to look up into the heavens should give this place a visit.
