Your tour guide will pick you up from your Qufu hotel's lobby, then heading directly to the Temple of Confucius. If you choose to start the tour at 7:30am, you will be able to watch the “Opening Gate Ceremony " at the main entrance.
Temple of Confucius was first built in 478BC to commemorate Confucius. The temple has been reconstructed over the centuries. In total, it has undergone 15 major renovations, 31 large repairs, and numerous small building measures. More than 300 buildings erected through the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
The temple was built according to the specification for imperial palaces with yellow roof-tiles and red-painted walls, they are surrounded by dark-green pine trees to create a colour contrast with complementary colours.
Stroll around the halls and courtyards with your tour guide, learn about the symbolic significance of the architecture, admire the statue of Confucius, pay a visit to the stone tablets, steles and pavilions, discover Confucius' life experience, and many other historic and cultural items related to Confucius and Confucius culture.
Then, walk through the small market continue to explore the Kong Family Mansion.
The descendants of Confucius live here and they were in charge of conducting elaborate religious ceremonies on occasions such as plantings, harvests, honouring the dead, and birthdays. The first mansion was built in 1038 and was originally connected directly to the temple. The family mansion was inhabited by descendants of Confucius until 1937. Today, the mansion comprises 152 buildings with 480 rooms.
Afterwards heading to Confucius Cemetery either by car or tuktuk.
Confucian Cemetery has served as the family graveyard of Confucius and his descendants for more than two thousand years. It is the largest, oldest, and best-preserved single-family cemetery in China. This final resting place of Confucius and his descendants is commonly known as the Forest of Confucius because of the large number of trees, over 20,000, planted with numerous tombstones, temples, pavilions and sculptures. There are about 3,600 tombstones dating from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties still standing in the cemetery.
After the tour finished, your can choose to explore the area on your own, your tour guide can help you to find a taxi to your next destination (on your own expense).
