Beijing Planetarium

A trip to the Beijing Planetarium should really revolve around the four shows on offer daily – ‘Cosmic Detective Kids’, ‘Escape from Dino Island’, the ‘Digital Space Theatre’, and a 4D show – ‘Walking the Cambrian’. As the names might suggest, this is really one to please the little ones (or those young at heart).

Reminiscent of a cinema, and with pervasive popcorn smells,Block B houses most of the screening theatres, with exhibitions focused on the ground floor. With sections dedicated to the sun, moon, planets and meteors, it covers all the basics for understanding the universe, with simple information set out in Chinese and English.

Block A, housed in an older observatory building, contains exhibitions of cosmic images and telescopes. You can really tell that the planetarium gears itself towards a younger clientele because most things are positioned at waist-level, but there are plenty of interactive screens (Chinese only) and space projections to keep the experience lively for all. Men-Yung Wang