Confucius Temple

In year 1034, the Confucius Temple in Nanjing was originally constructed in the year of in the Song Dynasty. It was a place to worship and consecrate Confucius, the great philosopher and educator of ancient China. It is also known as Fuzimiao in Chinese. This temple suffered repeated damage and has been rebuilt on several occasions since that time. In year 1937, the temple suffered the most destruction when it was burnt to ruin by Japanese aggressors. The temple was rebuilt under the support of the local government in 1984. During the long process, the original building expanded to be a complex building in the architectural style of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, including the Confucius Temple itself, the Jiangnan Gongyuan (the place of imperial examinations) and the Xue Gong (the Imperial Academy).

The Qinhuai River flowing in front of the Confucius Temple. On the south bank of the river, there is the longest screen wall in China which is 110-meter-long (about 120 yards) and piled with bricks. The Dacheng Hall is a welcome attraction in Nanjing, it is 16.22 meters high (about 53 feet) and 28.1 meters (about 30 yards) wide featuring a 1.5-meter-high (about 5 feet) pedestal. There are two worthwhile attractions found in the inner hall. One is the largest figure of Confucius in China. The other one is the beautiful collection of 38 vivid panels which are made by various jade, gold and silver, detailing the life of Confucius. Out of the hall, there is a bronze statue of Confucius as well as the white marble statues of his eight disciples.

There are many tourist shops, snack bars, restaurants and tea cafes around the temple. All of them all appear to be in the architectural style of the Ming and Qing style. A variety of snacks encompassing eight of the most famous flavours are available for purchase at here. They are necessary parts of food culture in Nanjing.