Confucius and the kong family Mansion / Qufu Sights / Qufu Attraction

The temple and cemetery of Confucius and the Kong family mansion are in Qufu City, the birthplace of Confucius, shandong Province. They are the largest architectural complexes in China that includes the temple for offering sacrifices to Confucius, the mansion where direct descendants of the sage live and the cemetery containing the remains of Confucius his offspring.

Confucius (551-479 B. C.), the founder of the thought, is regarded as the greatest thinker and educationalist. Confucius is commemorated by all Chinese, because of the approach to education. He stimulated his students to think by posing questions. The molding of the personality was of prime importance in education was maintained by him, and everything else followed this.

The Kong Family Mansion is the place where Confucius' oldest direct descendant lived from generation to generation to sacrifice, guard and maintain the Cemetery of Confucius. It covers 16 hectares with 463 rooms, which consists three parts¡ªthe Oiantang Tower, Houtang Tower and the garden. The Oiantang Tower is the offices. The Houtang Tower was where Kong Decheng , Confucius' 77th generation, and his wife lived. All the things here were laid out as they were got married.

Confucius Temple was built to sacrifice to Confucius, covering an area of 9.6 hectares with 466 rooms. And Dacheng Hall is the main building of the Confucius Temple. Altar of Apricot is said to be the place where Confucius once delivered lectures to his disciples. Pavilion was first built on altar in the Jin Dynasty. There are two stone tablets in pavilion: one of them was written by Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. The present building was built in the Ming Dynasty.

The family cemetery of Confucius is the largest and best-preserved family cemetery in China. Also known as "the sacred cemetery of the sage", the Cemetery of Confucius is located at the 1.1 kilometers north to the Qufu City. It is surrounded by a 7-km-long brick wall where lie the remains of Confucius and his offspring. By now it covers 1.83 square-kilometers with over 100,000 tombs in it.

Taishan Mountain, Known as the Mount of the East, the Mountain of the Gods, and the Eastern Peak of Heaven, is a typical representative of the Chinese famous traditional mountains with a long history and a special historic status. It is listed as "World Cultural and Natural Heritage" by UNESCO in 1987.

? It is towering in the middle of Shandong Province, and stretching into the sea, the magnificent range of Mount Tai rises and falls for over 200 kilo-meters just like a giant sleeping dragon.with the Yellow River flowing at the foot of its northern slopes, it has been regarded as the first of the five sacred mountains in ancient China for its ma-jesty and beauty. The prominent peak, Yuhuang peak, known, as the Celestial Pillar is 1545 meters above sea level .The south of Taishan Mountain is higher than the north. The distance between south and north is 60kms.

As a mountainous scenic spot, Taishan Mountain has high values in term of aesthetics and science, especially the aesthetic value, which is the foundation for Taishan Mountain becoming a famous mountain in the history and the world natural and cultural heritage today. In ancient times, Mount Tai was deified by the feudal rulers of various dynasties and given the title, "Divine Emperor of the East Peak". From the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty down to Emperor Qianlong of The Qing Dynasty, many of them personally visited Mount Tai to attend grand sacrificial ceremonies. Various other titles were lavishly offered to the "Divine Emperor of the East Peak" by them as a means to have their own names long remembered. These "royal visits" contributed to the construction of many temples, pavilions, and other buildings. Emperors but poets, scholars and men of letters were fond of coming to this sacred mountain, and left behind countless inscriptions engraved on rocks and stones. It many be said that the whole of Mount Tai is a vast open-air museum of history, having on display much of an oriental civilization, which is representative of the creative wisdom of the ancient Chinese people. We can say that Taishan Mountain is the symbol of spiritual culture of China and the unique heritage of the world.