Qufu Confucius Temple

Within two years after the death of Confucius, his former house in Qufu was already consecrated as a temple by the Prince of Lu. The original three-room house of Confucius was removed from the temple complex during a rebuilding undertaken in 611 AD.

The temple complex is the second largest historical building complex in China, it covers an area of 16,000 square metres and has a total of 460 rooms. The main part of the temple consists of 9 courtyards arranged on a central axis, which is oriented in the north-south direction and is 1.3 km in length. 

It is supported by 28 richly decorated pillars, each 6 m high and 0.8 m in diameter and carved in one piece out of local rock. The 10 columns on the front side of the hall are decorated with coiled dragons. It is said that these columns were covered during visits by the emperor in order not to arouse his envy. Dacheng Hall served as the principal place for offering sacrifices to the memory of Confucius. In the center of the courtyard in front of Dacheng Hall stands the "Apricot Platform", which commemorates Confucius teaching his students under an apricot tree.