观象台

觀象臺

guānxiàngtái

noun

Measure Word

一座观象台 zuò

Meanings

1 observatory
2 observation platform (esp. astronomical or meteorological)

Characters

phenomenon / image

platform / terrace

Examples

北京古观象台已有六百多年历史。

Běijīng gǔ guānxiàngtái yǐ yǒu liùbǎi duō nián lìshǐ.

The Beijing Ancient Observatory has a history of more than six hundred years.

我们登上观象台，看到了壮丽的星空。

Wǒmen dēng shàng guānxiàngtái, kàn dào le zhuànglì de xīngkōng.

We climbed up to the observatory and saw a magnificent starry sky.

Tips

history

The Beijing Ancient Observatory 北京古观象台 was built in 1442 (Ming dynasty) and was operational for nearly 500 years — one of the oldest continuously operating observatories in the world. Jesuit missionaries like Ferdinand Verbiest 南怀仁 (Nán Huáirén) helped redesign its bronze instruments in the 17th century.

Stroke Order

观 guān

象 xiàng

台 tái