Five radio observation stations were present in China at the time of the eclipse, two of which were within the annularity, in
Ürümqi and
Shanghai respectively. A partial solar eclipse was observed from the other three, including one in
Nanjing where the eclipse was close to annularity, and the rest two in
Beijing and
Kunming. The Department of Mathematics and Physics of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Astronomical Society held a meeting in Kunming in December 1986, deciding that on-site observation would be conducted at each station, among which the
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory was considered to have the best location with a larger magnitude of the eclipse, longer duration and larger
solar zenith angle. The Shanghai Astronomical Observatory conducted observations with seven different wave bands using a 25-metre radio telescope. The
Yunnan Astronomical Observatory located in Kunming also conducted a multi-band joint observation of the partial solar eclipse. The Chinese Research Institute of Radio Wave Propagation conducted observations with a high-frequency skywave radar located in
Xinxiang on the southern limit of annularity. Uneven structure and motion were observed in the
ionosphere, the highest operating frequency was found changed during the eclipse, and large-scale fluctuations continued after the eclipse. == Eclipse details ==