south-pointing chariot existed. These methods can work accurately over long distances, unlike the mechanical designs for the chariot. Necessity of non-mechanical orientation Some non-mechanical method of finding the south must have been used when a mechanical south-pointing chariot was initialized, aiming its pointer to the south at the start of a journey. Any of the methods mentioned above in "Non-mechanical possibilities" could have been used. If any south-pointing chariot was really used for long-distance navigation, it must have relied (after initialization) on a non-mechanical direction-finding method. It might have been operated non-mechanically by someone riding in it, as outlined above. Alternatively, if it had a mechanical mechanism, it must have been frequently re-initialized non-mechanically to eliminate accumulated errors and uncertainties. The only chariots that might not have needed non-mechanical methods of finding the south would have been those that were never used for long-distance navigation. If some chariots were used only for amusement or fraud, they could have worked purely mechanically. Even initialization could have been avoided by simply declaring some arbitrary direction to be "south". Modern replicas While none of the historic south-pointing chariots remain, full sized replicas can be found. The History Museum in Beijing, China, holds a replica based on the mechanism of Yen Su (1027). The National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, holds a replica based on the Lanchester mechanism of 1932. Referred to as the "southern pointing man", two replicas can also be seen (and physically experimented with) at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Canada. See also Chariots in ancient China Chinese war wagon History of science and technology in China List of Chinese inventions Mechanical engineering Notes References The Chinese South-Seeking chariot: A simple mechanical device for visualizing curvature and parallel transport M. Santander, American Journal of Physics – September 1992 – Volume 60, Issue 9, pp. 782–787 Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Kit Williams, Engines of Ingenuity, Gingko Press (February 2002), External links South Pointing Things – Useful site with lot of info, images and plans for building chariots RLT – Fully functional model kit A video of a 3D model of an open differential Chariots Chinese inventions Chinese mythology Human-powered vehicles Mechanical engineering Military vehicles of China Vehicle technology Warhorses