Qufu

Qufu is a city in southwestern Shandong Province, China, has an urban population of about 60,000, and the entire administrative region has about 650,000 inhabitants.

Qufu is best known as the hometown of Confucius, a great thinker,educator ,the founder of the Confucian Philosophy,who is traditionally believed to have been born at nearby Mount Ni. The city contains numerous historic palaces, temples and cemeteries. The three most famous cultural sites of the city, collectively known as San Kong "the Three Confucian sites", are the Temple of Confucius (Chinese: 孔庙; pinyin: Kǒngmiào), the Cemetery of Confucius (孔林; Kǒnglín), and the Kong Family Mansion (孔府; Kǒngfǔ). Together, these three sites have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

The Confucian Temple is in the center of Qufu City. It was built in 478 BC. There are still 466 halls, pavilions and other rooms intact， covering a total area of 21.8 hectares.  is 3 meters tall.   In addition to a statue of Confucius， the hall also houses stone inscription ofthe Ming Dynasty,which tells the life story of Confucius in 120 pictures.

The Confucian Family Mansion,right next to the Confucian Temple,was the residence ofConfucius' descendants and also the residence just next to the imperial palace in scale. Itcovers 16 hectares with 463 rooms. The family mansion now houses a large number of documents，files and cultural relics.

The Confucian Cemetery,occupying more than 200 the family graveyard of Confucius and his descendants for hectares，has served as more than 2 300 years.

It is the largest artificial cemetery in China，with a perimeter of over a dozen kilometers. It is also the mostintact and the oldest survivor of family graveyards.