Nanjing Purple Mountain is a pretty natural hill with 3 interesting attractions. It is an important site but can be crowded. It will give you an insight into Chinese culture and history. The view from the pagoda is worth the climb. 

Purple Mountain Observatory, also known as Zijinshan Observatory, is located on the Purple Mountain in the east suburb of Nanjing City. Seen from afar, the white domed buildings are shining brightly in the sun. It is said that your wish will come true when you make a bow to god while the meteor is shooting across the sky. Whether it is superstition or not, it shows to some extent the importance of celestial phenomena in people's minds. Then, does this saying stir up curiosity about Chinese astronomy? The Purple Mountain Observatory may give you a satisfactory answer.

Finished in 1934, the Purple Mountain Observatory is the earliest and one of the most famous observatories in China. Of milestone significance, it symbolizes the threshold of Chinese modern astronomy.

At the beginning, the Purple Mountain Observatory enjoyed a great reputation for its splendid architectures, rare apparatus and abundant books. The 60-centimeter-caliber (24 inches) reflecting telescope, the 20-centimeter-caliber (8 inches) refracting telescope (both made in Germany) and the meridian transit made by Swiss were almost the most advanced equipment of the time. And they are still housed here. Now, it is well equipped with modern facilities used for doing experiments and observing the sun, the moon, the planets, the fixed stars and satellites.

What's more, many ancient astronomical apparatus made of bronze are also displayed here, including Armillary Sphere, Simplified Armillary Sphere and Gnomon of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Celestial Globe and Altazimuth of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
 

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