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.