* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Dengfeng Observatory

Blobrana · L

First built in the Yuan Dynasty, Dengfeng Observatory is located in Gaocheng Town, Dengfeng City, Henan Province.
The front and rear courtyards of the Observatory consist of seven parts including the screen wall, the gate, Flower Gate (chuihuamen), Duke of Zhou's Sundial, the Main Hall, the observatory, Zhongsi Hall. Over ten kinds of astronomic instruments are copied and set up in the courtyards.
So far, the extant Observatory is one of the earliest and best-preserved astronomic structures not only in China and but in the world as a whole.
Source

Gaocheng Observatory, about eight miles from Dengfeng, is the oldest facility of its kind in China. The observatory dates to the early portion of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD). It was designed originally for use in predicting the time of the solstice each year. Astronomers at the site were able to calculate the actual length of the year to 365.2425 days some 300 years before Europeans managed to develop the Gregorian calendar.
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