[Photo from ebeijing.gov.cn]

About

The Beijing Planetarium is a National first-level natural science museum. Its main purpose is to popularize science and to hold exhibitions. It is a scientific institution for popularizing astronomical knowledge to the public and promoting the spirit of science, popularizing scientific ideas and science's critical methodology. It is a "Palace for Science", "to explore the mysteries of the universe and to benefit society". It currently comprises Building A and Building B.

Building A was built in 1957 and has a total area of approximately 5,000 square meters and a usable area of 2,700 square meters. It was the first large-scale planetarium in China. It contains the Celestial Theater, plus an Eastern Exhibition Hall and a Western Exhibition Hall.

Building B has several exciting parts: Digital space theater, 3D theater, 4D theater, exhibition hall, two observatories. There are a planetarium and two exhibition galleries in old Planetarium. Beijing Planetarium is one of the powerful planetaria in the world. It has made great contributions to popularize astronomy.

The Beijng Planetarium's SGI Digital Space Theater is the first theatre in the world to use the Laser and Omnimax projection systems.

The Beijing Planetarium's Space Centre has a huge curved screen representing the Heavens which is 23 meters in diameter.

The 3-D Theater has 6 sets of Turbo Ride Motion Seats and can seat a total of 48 people in the audience for each performance.

The Beijing Planetarium's 4D Theater has a 3D video system and very special seats. It has seating for 196 people for each performance and special effects.

The future exhibition zone in the new building will be another classroom for visitors to acquire the astronomical scientific knowledge.

Around

Beijing Zoo The Beijing Zoo, situated to the west of Beijing Exhibition Center, was known for a short time after the founding of the People's Republic as the Western Suburbs Park (Xijiao Gongyuan). The grounds combine cultivated flower gardens with stretches of natural scenery, including dense groves of trees, stretches of grassland, a small stream, lotus pools and small hills dotted with pavilions and halls.

Paleozoological Museum of China Paleozoological Museum of China (PMC) was founded by Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. PMC is the first national natural science museum based on fossils to spread the knowledge of Paleontology, paleoecology, ancient anthropology and evaluation. PMC is at present the largest Paleozoological museum in Asia.

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Address: 138 Xizhimenwai Street, Beijing

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