04-Oct-2026 -- I took Beijing Bus Line 890 toward the destination, Xiaweidian (下苇甸). After getting off, walking just a short distance forward brought me to a fork in the road on the left. Following this path a bit further led directly to the entrance of a park built specifically for this degree confluence point: the Beijing Origin Coordinate Park (北京原点坐标公园). Above the main entrance gate, its coordinates, 40°N 116°E, are explicitly marked (picture #7).
However, the park seems to have been neglected ever since its completion; its current state can only be described as a complete mess. The roads have collapsed in multiple places (picture #9), and many of the park's benches and trash cans are buried under wild weeds and tree branches (picture #10). Yet, these remaining paths were still useful - they allowed me to head straight toward the target without having to navigate blindly through the mountain brush like earlier explorers. I suppose because the park is far from central Beijing and the theme of a degree confluence point is far too niche, it struggles to attract visitors, leading its maintainers to forget its very existence.
After a 20-minute walk, I arrived at the park's core attraction—a gnomon pole set atop a Bagua pattern (picture #8). The park's builders claimed this spot to be 40°N 160°E (which ought to be 40°N 116°E) (picture #11). However, when I checked the coordinates with my phone, I found it did not fall precisely on 40°N 116°E. Its actual location was 40°0'1.10"N 116°0'2.20"E, about 62 meters away from the real confluence point. I had to backtrack a short distance and push into the woods along the path. After several fine adjustments, my phone finally displayed the precise coordinates of 40°N 116°E.
This real degree confluence point had no markers whatsoever, nor had any clearing been made for it during the park's construction. Looking around as I stood there, all I could see were trees - a scene that is typical of these mountains.