[2025 Qufu Attraction] Travel Guide for Confucius Temple (Updated Feb)

The Confucius Temple is located in Qufu City. It is a large-scale temple dedicated to Confucius. It was rebuilt on the site of Confucius' former residence. The Confucius Temple in Qufu is a world cultural heritage and one of the four major ancient architectural complexes in China, along with the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Mountain Resort in Chengde, and the Dai Temple in Tai'an. The architectural complex here is magnificent and huge, with many ancient monuments and historical stories. Travel TipsThere are Guide in the tourist service hall and the Confucius Temple Square. It is recommended to ask a Guide to Guide so that you can understand the allusions of the ancient monuments here more clearly. If you come in the morning, you can enjoy the opening ceremony outside the south gate of the Confucius Temple at 8 o'clock, with actors in ancient costumes performing, and there will be a closing ceremony at 5 o'clock in the afternoon (5:30 in the peak season), but the performances are generally suspended during the Spring Festival (the specific details are subject to the announcement on the official website of the Attraction). In addition, it should be noted that it is common to overcharge tourists in the local area. Many tourists have been deceived by taxi drivers, tricycle drivers, or Guide guides to those artificial attractions or restaurants with high charges and unpopularity. If you encounter their sales promotion, do not believe them easily. At the same time, try not to eat Souvenir the Attraction . There are many restaurants near the Confucius Temple that overcharge tourists. Tour GuideThe Confucius Temple has a total of nine courtyards, and more than a hundred buildings are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides of the central axis road. After entering the first gate "Lingxing Gate" and looking inside, you can see that the door holes are deep and bottomless. Then you will pass through Shengshi Gate, Hongdao Gate, Dazhong Gate, and Tongwen Gate in turn. There are courtyards with lush vegetation between each gate. Among them, there is a corner tower on the left and right sides of Dazhong Gate, and there are two large stone tablets on the left and right sides of Tongwen Gate. These are the four famous imperial tablets of the Ming Dynasty. The tall building behind Tongwen Gate is the "Kuiwen Pavilion", a library built in the Song Dynasty. After Kuiwen Pavilion, you can see thirteen pavilions with more than fifty inscriptions from past dynasties, most of which are records of emperors' temple repairs and sacrifices. Going further ahead is Dacheng Gate. The three characters "Dacheng Gate" are the imperial seal of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. The highlight here is the architectural design of the interlaced eaves between Dacheng Gate and the adjacent pavilions. After Dacheng Gate, there is a pavilion called "Xingtan", which was built by Confucius' descendants to commemorate Confucius' lectures. Then we came to the majestic Dacheng Hall, where the twenty-eight eaves stone pillars of Dacheng Hall are embossed with cloud dragon patterns. In the hall, there are plaques with the handwriting of Emperor Kangxi "Teacher of All Ages" and Emperor Guangxu "Civility is Here". Dacheng Hall is the main hall and landmark building of the Confucius Temple. It is known as the "Three Great Halls of the East" together with the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Hall of Heavenly Blessing in the Dai Temple in Tai'an. In the center of the hall is a statue of Confucius, with statues of his seventy-two disciples and Confucian sages from past dynasties standing on the left and right. The major Confucius worship activities of emperors of past dynasties were held in the hall. Nowadays, many tourists come to the Confucius Temple to pray every day, among which the incense in front of Dacheng Hall is quite popular.The sleeping hall in the backyard of Dacheng Hall is dedicated to Confucius' wife Qi Guanshi, and there are stone-carved comic strips recording Confucius' deeds in the Hall of Holy Relics. In addition, the west road of Dacheng Hall is the building for worshipping Confucius' parents, and the east road is Confucius' former residence, Lu Bi, etc. Among them, "Lu Bi" is a short section of low wall. It is said that during the period of Qin Shihuang's "burning books and burying scholars", Confucius' descendants hid Confucius's books in the wall. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, bamboo slips such as "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Book of Filial Piety" were discovered here. Attraction ActivitiesThroughout the dynasties, the Confucius Temple has been a place for worshipping Confucius, and the activities of worshipping Confucius are still going on. In recent years, usually from September 26 to October 10 every year, the Confucius Temple in Qufu will hold a Confucius worship ceremony, during which there will be large-scale temple music and dance activities. You can see many people wearing Hanfu and wearing tall hats participating in the ceremony, and people from all walks of life will come to worship Confucius.