Qufu Things to Do

Most commercial names in Qufu town are directly related to Mr Kong. Just outside my hotel I saw a restaurant claimed as the 75th direct descendant of Mr.Kong while at the other side, not more than 10 shops away, I saw another shop claimed 76th direct descendant of Mr.Kong. Signboards in Mr.Kong name are countless, you never know what is what, only commercial.

Visit Confucius Temple (3 Kong) will cost you each RMB200+ only for those tickets.

Anyway, I arrived by BUS from Hangzhou, the usual Sleeper-BUS. Very clean the condition but weird management especially the drivers in handling passengers. The cost of ticket is RMB266 each, 14 hours, stop for meal only once, do not drink too much water as driver won't stop, beautiful scenery along the way.

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The town walls run around the old town of Qufu which encompasses the Confucius Temple, Kong Family Mansion, bell and drum towers and Yan Temple. They run for approx 8km in length in a 2km by 2km square shape and incorporate some nice gates. They look like they date from the Ming dynasty.

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This is the cone-shaped hill tomb of the great sage which is located in the Confucius Forest which itself lies a few kilometres to the north of Qufu. The original tomb erected here in memory of Confucius on the bank of the Sishui River had the shape of an axe. In addition, it had a brick platform for sacrifices. When the present tomb was opened by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution no human remains were found in it.

The tomb is cleared sign-posted from the gate-way into the forest cemetery. Next to it lie the tombs of Confucius' sons.

Admission: Included in the price of the Confucius Temple ticket.

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This forest is actually a cemetery and a pretty big one at that. It lies a few kilometres to the north of Qufu and is where the great sage, Confucius, is buried along with over 100,000 of his descendants in a walled compound that encloses an area of 3.6 square kilometres. The perimeter wall stretches for a length of 7.5km. Some 3,600 tombstones, which date back to the Han dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), can be found amongst thousands of trees, which can be seen by walking through the undergrowth on narrow paths. The oldest graves date back to the Zhou Dynasty, the most recent of which belong to descendants in the 76th and 78th generation.

Admission: Included in the price of the Confucius Temple ticket.

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It was here that Duke Yansheng greeted the emperor's decrees, received officials and executed the family rules. To the east and west of the Gate of Double Glory lies the former administrative departments of the Kong mansion modelled after the six ministries of the imperial government. The departments of seals, rites and accounting management lie in the east while the departments of letters, archives and music lie in the west.

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This gate (meaning Gate of Double Glory) was built in Emperor Hongzhi's reign during the Ming dynasty in 1503. Its name is from the vertical tablet which reads "Bestowing double glory from Emperor Zhu Houcong". It was known as the gate of ceremony.

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The descendants of Confucius lived in the Kong family mansion located to the east of the temple. They were in charge of tending to the temple and cemetery. In particular, they were in charge of conducting elaborate religious ceremonies on occasions such as plantings, harvests, honouring the dead, and birthdays. The Kong family was in control of the largest private rural estate in China. The first mansion was built in 1038 during the Song dynasty and was originally connected directly to the temple. During a rebuilding in 1377 directed by the first Ming dynasty Emperor, it was moved a short distance away from the temple. In 1503, it was expanded into three rows of buildings with 560 rooms and - like the Confucius Temple - 9 courtyards. The mansion underwent a complete renovation in 1838 only to perish in a fire 47 years later in 1887. It was rebuilt two years later; the cost of both 19th century renovations was covered by the Emperor. Today, the mansion comprises 152 buildings with 480 rooms, which cover an area of 12,470 square metres. The family mansion was inhabited by descendants of Confucius until 1937, when Confucius' descendant in the 76th and 77th generations fled to Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War and later during the Chinese Civil War to Taiwan, where the head of the family still resides.

Admission: Included in the price of the Confucius Temple ticket.

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This hall was first built during the Song dynasty (960-1279) and was temporary residence for Emperor Zhen Zong when he came to worship here. It was so-named to commemorate Confucius' instructing his son, Kong Li, to study poetry and rites.