The Confucian Forest harbors Confucius' tomb, a simple hill of raised earth with a five-character inscription carved onto a stone in front of it, reading, loosely, "Sacred Father." Confucius Temple is a maze of large halls, bell towers, dragoned bas-relief columns, steles and rickety old cypresses propped up by metal joists. Nestled inside the Confucius Temple stands the famous Lu Wall - a hollow structure in which one of the Sage's descendants successfully hid his books of teachings from the emperor's troops.

Rubbing shoulders with the Temple complex in the heart of town is Confucius Mansion. Though the Master never enjoyed the opulence of the place, having been a mere teacher in his time, his 9th to 77th generations occupied the buildings for over 2500 years, a result of later emperors wanting to show respect to Confucian thought. Most of the yard's 466 rooms and myriad courtyards are off-limits to tourists, though enough are open to give one a good general idea of the place.

Qufu is 350 miles southeast of Beijing in coastal Shandong province.

Ticket: Temple of Confucius 50 yuan (US$6); Cemetery of Confucius 20 yuan; Kong Family Mansion 30 yuan.

Open Time: 7:30-16:30

(china.org.cn March 25, 2003)