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The Confucius Temple and the Confucius Mausoleum in Qufu, Shandong Province were granted the name of "world cultural heritage" by UNESCO in Dec 1994.
Qufu, a famous ancient city in Shandong province and the hometown of Confucius, who is the founder of Confucianism, locates in the south of Jinan city with a 120-km-long distance. Confucius Mansion, Confucius Temple and Confucius tomb in this city, built in dynasties, makes it well know throughout the country.
Confucius Temple, the former residence of Confucius, was built according to the specification for imperial palaces. It is one of the three ancient building complexes in our country and holds an important position even in the world. It covers an area of 300 mu. Inside of this complex, there are 9 yards, each among which has its own characters. Among them the Dacheng Palace and the Kuiwen Cabinet are its main buildings. Dacheng Palace is the main body of Confucius temple. There are 10 poles made of marble in its front porch. Each pole has two carved flying dragons playing a big pearl. The poles in its internal porch are made of nan mao. In the front of this Palace, there is a pavilion, named "Xingchan", where Confucius used to teach in his old days.
The structure of Kuiwen Cabinet is 3-layer timberwork, which is rare in our county. In Confucius temple, there is a statue of Confucius, 13 stele pavilions, 53 huge steles and 120 "Shengjitu", on which writes Confucius's life experience. There are over 2100 steles including 800-plus steles displayed outside and 1200 existing ones, forming a Forest of Steles.
Confucius Mausoleum is the graveyard of Confucius and his family covering an area of 3000 mu encircled by walls with a lot of ancient trees inside.
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