During my week in Beijing there was only a single day of clear blue sky the entire time I was there, the rest of the time the sky was sadly thick with pollution. Luckily that day fell somewhat appropriately on the same as my visit to Beijing’s Ancient Observatory located in the southeast of Beijing next to Jianguomen subway station. As it was a weekday and a little off the normal tourist trail I practically had the whole place to myself and was able to enjoy a quiet hour at this unassuming yet fascinating piece of Beijing’s history. The pretelescopic observatory was built in the Ming Dynasty in 1442 and is one of the oldest in the world. The central attraction of the small…