첨성대 Cheomseongdae Observatory > Gyeongju, South Korea > Day 04 (6) - 2014 October 11 (Busan, Gyeongju, Seoul, Daegwallyeong, Nami Island, Mt Seorak, Kuala Lumpur)

The next place is Cheomseongdae Observatory which located right next of the Royal Tomb of King Naemul.

Source:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheomseongdae
- http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264256

Address:
839-1, Inwang-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeonsangbuk-do
경북 경주시 인왕동 839-1

Directions:

• Start at the Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal. From the terminal bus stop take Bus 70. Get off at Daereung-won Tumuli Park. The observatory is 3 minutes away on foot. Bus arrives at 7-min intervals.
• Start at the Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal bus stop. Take Bus 10 or 11 and get off at Wolseong-dong office (Daereung-won Tumuli Park). TThe observatory is 5 minutes away on foot.

Admissions Fee: Free

Cheomseongdae is the oldest existing astronomical observatory in Asia. Constructed during the reign of Queen Seon-deok (632-647), it was used for observing the stars in order to forecast the weather. This stone structure is a beautiful combination of straight lines and curves, and was designated as National Treasure No.31 on December 20th, 1962.

Cheomseongdae was built in a cylinder shape with stones 30cm in diameter. 362 stones were piled up to make 27 levels. Roughly 4.16m up from the bottom there is a 1㎡ square entrance and a space to hang a ladder under it. The inside is filled with soil up to the 12th level, and the 19th, 20th, 25th, and 26th levels all have long rocks hanging on two areas, shaped as the Chinese letter '井' (jeong).

It stands 9.17m high and the base stone on each side measures 5.35m. The Vernal Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice and the 24 solar terms (also known as the astronomical solar year) were determined by the observation of stars. The pavilion stone is believed to have been used as a standard of deciding directions, north, south, east and west. The 362 stones used to build Cheomseongdae represented the 362 days in a lunar year.

It's a heritage monument. If you didn't know the history, then probably you won't understand what is this. Just look like a monument in the middle of the park. I think it's unique.

So many people come here and enjoy the festival. We buy some streetfood like Tteokbuki and BBQ. It's yummy. And there's dance competition too in there.

Some place nearby are Anapji Pond, Tumuli Park, but the sun has already set. So we decided to end the trip for today.