[1] The Purple Mountain Observatory was established in 1934 funded by the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China and administered by Academia Sinica.

The longtime director of the observatory from 1950 to 1984 was Chinese astronomer Zhang Yuzhe (张钰哲, 1902–1986, also known as Y. C. Chang).

By the late 1980s, increasing light pollution in Nanjing meant Purple Mountain was no longer viable as a working observatory.

It has since shifted its focus to public education, with much of the actual scientific work being carried out in its five branch observatories located at Qinghai (in Delingha), Ganyu, Xuyi, Honghe (in Jiamusi), and Qingdao.

[2] Several hundred minor planets were discovered by the observatory's PMO NEO Survey Program from 2006 to 2013.