The Temple of Earth Built in 1530, the Temple of Earth in the northern part of beijing has square altars and walls in line with the ancient chinese concept of a square earth. The high terrace on the left is the Altar of Earth, while the two square stone terraces on the right represent the country's great mountains and rivers respectively, as indicated by the carvings on them.
Observatory
The observatory inside Jianguomen (Gate of National Reconstruction) was built in 1279. Of the 15 astronomical instruments originally kept there, seven were moved to the Zijinshan (Purple Gold Mountain) Observatory in Nanjing in 1931. The eight instruments remaining here were manufactured in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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