Confucius Temple

China's largest imperial building complex after the Forbidden City, the temple actually started out as a simple memorial hall 2500 years ago, gradually mushrooming into today's compound, which is one-fifth the size of the Qūfù town centre. Like shrines to Confucius everywhere, it has an almost museumlike quality, with none of the worshippers or incense-burning rituals that animate religious temples. There is also little in the way of imagery, and the principal disciples and thinkers of Confucian thought are only paid tribute to with simple tablets, in the wings of the main courtyards. It also seems strange that emperors seem to get more mention here than the actual sage himself!

The main entrance in the south passes through a series of triple-door gates, leading visitors to two airy, cypress-filled courtyards. About halfway along the north–south axis rises the triple-eaved Great Pavilion of the Constellation of Scholars (奎文阁; Kuíwén Gé), an imposing Jin-dynasty wooden structure containing faded prints illustrating Confucius' exploits in The Analects. Beyond lie a series of colossal, twin-eaved stele pavilions, followed by Dàchéng Gate (大成门; Dàchéng Mén), north of which is the Xìngtán Pavilion (杏坛; Xìng Tán), marking the spot from where Confucius allegedly taught his students.

The core of the complex is the huge yellow-eaved Dàchéng Hall (大成殿; Dàchéng Diàn), which, in its present form, dates from 1724; it towers 31m on a white marble terrace. Craftspeople carved the 10 dragon-coiled columns so expertly that they had to be covered with red silk when Emperor Qianlong visited, lest he felt that the Forbidden City's Hall of Supreme Harmony paled in comparison.

Inside is a huge statue of Confucius residing on a throne, housed in a red and gold burnished cabinet. Above the sage are the characters for 'wànshì shībiǎo', meaning 'model teacher for all ages'. The next hall, the Chamber Hall (寝殿; Qǐn Diàn), was built for Confucius' wife and is now undergoing extensive renovations.

East of Dàchéng Hall, Chóngshèng Hall (崇圣祠; Chóngshèng Cí) is also adorned with fabulous carved pillars. South of the hall is the Lǔ Wall (鲁壁; Lǔ Bì), where the ninth descendant of Confucius hid the sacred texts during the book-burning campaign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The books were discovered again during the Han dynasty, and led to a lengthy scholastic dispute between those who followed a reconstructed version of the last books and those who supported the teachings in the rediscovered ones.

Exit from the east gate, Dōnghuá Gate (东华门; Dōnghuá Mén), south of which is the Bell Tower (钟楼; Zhōnglóu), spanning the width of Queli Jie. Come early to avoid the hordes of megaphone-blaring tour groups that descend upon the complex.