Beijing Planetarium

Beijing Planetarium is a national leader in public astronomy, a beloved civic visiting place, and o­ne of Beijing’s most popular attractions. It contains two parts: Beijing Planetarium and Beijing Ancient Observatory. Beijing Planetarium consists of the new building and the old Planetarium. The new facility has several exciting parts: Digital space theater, 3D theater, 4D theater, exhibition hall, two observatories. After 50 years of public use by roughly 18 million visitors, it’s underwent renovations and reopened in March 2008. There are a planetarium and two exhibition galleries in the old Planetarium. Beijing Planetarium is o­ne of the powerful planetariums in the world. It has made great contributions to popularize astronomy.

Beijing Ancient Observatory was first built in 1442 in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), and was the national observatory in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It is about 14 meters high with 8 astronomical instruments made in the Qing Dynasty. It has an observation history of nearly 500 years from the Ming Dynasty to 1929 AD, which was a very long time in the world. It is also famous for its intact and integrated instruments. The 8 instruments were equipped with western technology and Chinese local art design, and they can show us the exchange between the western and eastern and the magnificent western design. After 1949, Beijing Ancient Observatory became a part of Beijing Planetarium. It is now under the key national relic’s protection unit..

Take Bus No. 7, 15, 19, 27, 45, 332, 334, 347, 380, 102, 103, 105, 111, 812, 808, special line 4 and get off at Zoo's bus stop.