A world map dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was lately found in a museum of Shijiazhuang, which is quite different from other world maps because it takes Beijing as the first meridian instead of the Greenwich Observatory in the United Kingdom.

The map was made by Qing official Ye Zipei in 1845 and reprinted in 1851, consisting of eight scrolls that can be rolled up. Every scroll runs at 130cm in length and 28cm in width. Scrolls 1 to 4 describe the Northern Hemisphere and 5 to 8 the Southern Hemisphere.

Experts say it is a rare map for its special painting and rich contents, and it will be of great help to the study of the map-making history and early people's understanding of the world.

Experts also say that the map had been carefully made, with vivid and standard symbols in token of mountains, rivers, cities and so on. It corrected mistakes made in previous maps and has detailed notes for China's Nansha, Xisha and Zhongsha islands and nearly 400 other place names, being a map with the most of notes over others known to the time in Chinese history.

(People’s Daily 07/30/2001)