Confucian Culture Exploration

Qufu, an important birthplace of the oriental culture, is known as the "Holy City of the East" as well as the "Jerusalem of the East". All of these are closely connected with one person, Confucius, who is the founder of the Confucianism in China and one of the greatest philosophers in the world. During the long history of more than two thousand years, Confucian culture has gradually become the orthodox culture of China, which influenced the countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and has become the cornerstone of the entire Oriental culture. In the following 3 days, you will explore Qufu in depth and experience the charms of the Confucian culture.

Upon your arrival in Qufu, you will be picked up in the train station on time. You're suggested to arrive before 10 o'clock. Afterwards, we will come to the Confucian Temple, which is a large scale temple rebuilt over the former residence of Confucius in 478 BC. It is also the second largest ancient architectural complex in China, only after the Forbidden City. There are a total of nine courtyards and more than 100 buildings arranged symmetrically on the two sides of the central axis road. Among them, the Dacheng Hall is the main hall and the core of the Confucius Temple. If lucky, you can also see the sacrificial ceremony here, which is very grand. In addition, there are also the largest number of Han steles in China, which are worth your attention.

After getting out of the Confucian Temple, we will come to the Kong Family Mansion, which is an aristocratic architecture known as the "first mansion under heaven". It is also a typical building in the feudal society of China where the official government and the residence were integrated. The mansion is divided into east, west and middle parts. The east is the location of family shrine. The west is the place for reading and reception. The middle is the main part, with the government office in the front, the residence in the middle, and the garden in the end. Besides, there are a large number of historical relics of various dynasties inside, some of which are the only ones in China. Afterwards, we will come to the Inscription Exhibition Hall of the Han and Wei Period (202BC - 266AD), where you can not only learn about Chinese traditional culture, but also feel the superb achievements of the Chinese calligraphy art.

In the morning, we will come to the Confucian Cemetery, which covers an area of nearly 2 square kilometers and has more than 100,000 tombs, with the Confucius tomb in the center. Here buried the direct descendants of Confucius to the 76th generation, and the collateral descendants to the 78th generation, from the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC) to the present, without interruption. As a family cemetery, there is no precedent in the world like this one with such large number of, long duration and well-preserved tombs. There are also rich cultural relics on the ground, which are of great value for the study of the evolution of Chinese burial system and ancient politics, economy, culture, customs, calligraphy and art.

In the afternoon, we will head to the Nishan Sacredland, the birthplace of Confucius as well as the holy place for Confucian visitors to worship. It is a comprehensive spot integrating cultural experience, studying and enlightening, ecological tourism as well as leisure vacation. Here, you can see the 72-meter-high Confucius Statue, the Nishan Confucius Temple, the Nishan Academy as well as the Grand University, which contains 72 galleries and the Ritual Hall, the Righteousness Hall, the Benevolence Hall, the Wisdom Hall, the Faith Hall, as well as the Ritual and Music Hall. When driving back, we will also pay a visit to the Ming Ancient City Wall, which was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) to guard the Confucius Temple.

Today, we will first head to visit the Confucius Six Classical Arts City, which used to be a film and television center. There are 6 exhibition halls under the theme of "rites, music, archery, charioting, calligraphy and mathematics", which are the arts advocated by Confucius all his life. After that, we will come to the Confucius Hometown Garden, which vividly recreates the residential landscape and the folk culture of Lu County with its unique oriental architectural style. The Confucius Hometown Garden will allow you to appreciate the greatness and mystery of ancient Chinese culture and Confucius culture across 2,500 years.

In the afternoon, we will come to the Confucius Culture Park, which is an open theme park covering an area of 2888.8 square meters. Here, you can have a relax to stroll around as well as get an insight into the Confucian culture. After finishing the visit, you will be transferred back to the train station of Qufu and your tour will end here.