"Confused in Qufu" Top 5 Page for this destination Qufu by DSwede

Qufu Travel Guide: 52 reviews and 312 photos

Or was it Confucius was in Qufu?!?

OK, similar to my visits to Beijing and Xi'an, I was working in Qingdao and still had no workers due to the Lunar New Year. Despite the managers assurances that they would return many days before.

So what did I do, I grabbed a map and tried to find something both close and interesting. That's when I found Qufu.

Being ~4hours overland from Qingdao it was relatively easy to get to, however halfway during my visit a snow storm rolled in so the trip back took over 7 hours. But I survived all the iced roads, the frozen rest stops and the near-blizzard conditions.

Heart of Confucius' Forest

Qufu is the ancient home of Confucius, and the Kong family. (note the similarity here... KONG -- CONfucius) There are still some of the lineage living there today, but much of the limelight has passed from the ancient days.

Out of the north city gate is the cemetery, know as Confucius Forest. There are over 100,000 tombs going back over 2500 years since Confucius himself was buried there.

Inside the Mansion

Qufu, I'm told, is a small town, tipping the scales at a over 100k people. There is an old city wall, wherein lies the sites of Confucius' Temple and Mansion.

In the heart of the old city, these sites are among the largest temples you can visit anywhere. And I must say that they were rather well maintained too.

[OK, did I mention the snow storm?!? See the photo and the one above... they were about 10 minutes apart, the drive home was fun... This was one of the last photos I could take before the visibility went to zero]

(for more pictures, feel free to visit my China Gallery. If you enjoy the pictures, please leave a comment.)

Also, please see my China page for more general comments.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Its just far enough away that you won't have to compete with (foreign) tourists.
Cons:While visiting the sites, the information placards are not always available in any language other than Chinese.
In a nutshell:I picturesque town, still more untouched from the standard modernization than most of China.

Intro Updated Mar 21, 2011
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Reviews (5)

Taxi's or horses Transportation (1)

Qufu is a small city and might be as developed as most that tourists go to. Therefore taxis, busses, etc are much more... more travel advice

Practice your archery Things to Do (2)

OK, it might be a bit corny, but what else are you going to do with those 10RMB buring a hole in your pocket. Some of... more travel advice

Confucius' Former Dwelling & Museum Things to Do (2)

1) The 'former dwelling' is basically an outdoor museum, done up with old-style facades and decorations. It was not... more travel advice

Night markets - eat while you shop Restaurants (1)

Not that I'm frugal and don't want to pay for restaurants, but I prefer to interact with the locals, haggle a bit and... more travel advice

Hotels (1)
Right on Confucius' Back Step

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Comments (3)

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taigaa001 Oct 9, 2012 at 4:57 PM

Thanks for contribution about the birthplace of Confucious. Japanese guidebooks about China is often about Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Hangzhou, Guilin but never smaller cities like Qufu. I enjoyed your page and good luck for your Barney Awards.
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SLLiew Oct 10, 2007 at 6:02 PM

Just revisiting :) Confucius would have said, "Nice page of Qufu" Like ur horse carriage pic :)
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nepalgoods May 13, 2006 at 10:31 PM

Nice page.