Qufu (曲阜 Qūfù) is a town in Shandong Province, located about 2 hours by bus from the provincial capital Jinan.
Famous as the birthplace of Confucius, its Confucius related sites are declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Qufu has more than 2,500 years of history. Best known as the hometown of China's "first sage", Confucius, it was the home of his descendants - who often ruled the place as feudal lords - for many centuries, until being forced by the Communist revolution to leave China's mainland for Taiwan.
The center of the national cult of Confucius, and the birthplace of the mythical Yellow Emperor (the legendary founder of the Chinese nation), Qufu saw many emperors decorate its temples with stone tablets (steles), praising Confucius and other heroic figures of the past. Usually written in Chinese, but during some dynasties also in Mongol or Manchu, these steles are among the most characteristic objects to be found at the city's historical sites. The most important of them are supported by mighty stone tortoises (which since the Ming era have become known as bixi). Entire books have been published in China cataloguizing Qufu's steles and transcribing their content.
While large Confucian temples can be found throughout China (e.g. Nanjing's Fuzimiao or Jianshui's Wenmiao) and some of its neighboring countries (e.g. Hanoi's Văn Miếu), Qufu's original temple is the "first in honor".
Qufu also boasts a strong Muslim ("Hui") community, concentrated in the Xiguan neighborhood outside of the western gate of the walled city.
The historical walled city, within which three of the major sites (Temple of Confucius, Kong Family Mansion, and the Yan Hui Temple) and many hotels are located is just a couple kilometers across. The town itself is quick to walk through and nice along the main streets. There are some old, restored gates and a winding creek to add atmosphere.
The Confucius Cemetery is a kilometer or so north of the present-day city wall. The modern city center is south of the walled city. The Muslim neighborhood with its mosque and a lively market is outside the west gate, while the Song-Dynasty sites associated with the Yellow Emperor and Shaohao are about 4 km east of the old city.
You pay for admission (Y30 to 80 per site, as of 2010) to all the good sites and wander among the sacred buildings, everyday buildings, stelae with inscriptions in Chinese, Mongol, and Manchu, and so forth. A guide or guidebook is essential as many of the sites are very big. Foreign tourists can gain free admission to the Temple of Confucius, Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion if you memorise 5 or more verses of Confucius's Analects in any language, whereas Chinese citizens need to memorise 30.
- Temple of Confucius. A row of gates and pavilions, and twenty-five stone turtles (bixi) holding tablets on which numerous emperors expressed their respect to the sage, in Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol (written in Phags-Pa script)
- Cemetery of Confucius, or Confucius Forest (Kong Lin)
- Kong Family Mansion (Kong Fu)
- Temple of Yan Hui (Yan Miao)
- Temple of Duke Zhou (Zhou Gong Miao)
- Tomb of Shaohao (Shaohao Ling) and Shou Qiu (birthplace of the legendary Yellow Emperor)
The main areas to see are the so-called San Kong ("Three Confucian [sites]"): the Confucian temple, the Confucian mansions, and the Confucian forest (just north of town). During the warm part of the year, it's very touristy and loaded with guides herding sightseers with little flags and megaphones, but in winter the place is almost deserted. English is not widely spoken.
Confucius Forest. The Cemetery of Confucius, or "Confucius Forest", is a cemetery where Confucius and 70+ generations of his descendants have been buried. Besides the tombs of Confucius himself, it contains a number of interesting sculptural ensembles from the Ming and Qing eras, decorating the tomb sites of Confucius' descendants who were the area's feudal rulers, as well as other dignitaries. A typical ensemble (神道， "shendao", or "spirit road") for a Duke of Yansheng (the senior-line descendant of Confucius in his generation, and the lord of Qufu) would start with a stone arch and contain a few stone animal statues (horses, rams, felines), a pair of human characters (a warrior and an official), and a stone turtle (赑屃, bixi) holding a stele praising the deceased. The path leads to the grave tumulus with another (turtle-less) stele on top.
One tip is to go to the Confucian cemetery towards the end of the day (maybe at 4) and then stroll around until the tour groups are leaving, and you will have the forest all to yourself. Walk to Confucius grave and share some silent moments across 2,500 years with him. A treat if you have been travelling around China for a while and are tired of hordes of people and noise.
One can easily walk to the main (southern) gate of the Confucius Forest from Qufu's walled city. A wide tree-lined avenue, about a kilometer long, connects it with the northern gate of the city wall.
A more remote site - 4 km east of the central city - consists of Shou Qiu ("Longevity Hill"), the birth place of the legendary Yellow Emperor, marked with two giant turtle-borne steles (apparently, the two largest monuments of this kind in China), and the nearby tomb of his similarly legendary son
Shaohao. with a small stone pyramid (much smaller than those in Egypt or Mexico). These monuments date to the Song Dynasty.
Shaohao. with a small stone pyramid (much smaller than those in Egypt or Mexico). These monuments date to the Song Dynasty.
Temple of Confucius. A row of gates and pavilions, and twenty-five stone turtles (bixi) holding tablets on which numerous emperors expressed their respect to the sage, in Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol (written in Phags-Pa script)
Cemetery of Confucius, or Confucius Forest (Kong Lin)
Kong Family Mansion (Kong Fu)
Temple of Yan Hui (Yan Miao)
Temple of Duke Zhou (Zhou Gong Miao)
Tomb of Shaohao (Shaohao Ling) and Shou Qiu (birthplace of the legendary Yellow Emperor)
At night the city walls are decorated with ornamental lights. The moat around the walls make for a picturesque walk at night. Many of the local elderly gather around these places to dance.
There is a swanky bar located, literally, in the city wall. It's usually a bit empty, but the bar tenders speak a bit of English and are very friendly. Local expats can be found there on most weekend nights.
There are tourist stands all around the temples and shouts of "hello! hello!" can be irritating. The main buys are copies of the Analects and a "chop" with your name engraved on it or something like that. Otherwise, it's the usual tourist stuff.
A great variety of restaurants can be found in the eastern part of the old walled city, a block or two east of Gulou Ave (the main north-south street of the old city).
For Halal food, fresh produce, tofu, baked goods, etc. head to the Muslim neighborhood: Xiguan St that runs west from the old city's west gate.
A note about eating here. Most restaurants you will easily find have marked up prices due to the tourist nature of the city. Beware asking cab-drivers or "wooden cab" drivers as they seem to receive kickbacks. You can expect to pay at least ¥100+ getting a meal for two if you are not careful and saavy. BEWARE.
- Qufu International Youth Hostel, Gu Lou Bei Lu (Just inside the northern gate., +86 537-4418989. It shouldn't come as much surprise that the cheapest place to eat in Qufu is the "bar" inside the International Youth Hostel. You can find a good bit of western food as well as a variety of standard Chinese fare. ¥15-40.
Qufu International Youth Hostel, Gu Lou Bei Lu (Just inside the northern gate., +86 537-4418989. It shouldn't come as much surprise that the cheapest place to eat in Qufu is the "bar" inside the International Youth Hostel. You can find a good bit of western food as well as a variety of standard Chinese fare. ¥15-40.
Konfujia in black jar (46%)