Shandong---the Homeland of Confucius(continued)

About 50 miles south of Tai'an, a train or a bus will drop you at a small town with big fame---Qufu. This is the birthplace of the ancient philosopher Confucius (551-479 B.C.), the Great Sage, venerated by the Chinese.

Confucius Temple: one of the three great classical Chinese architectural complexes (Beijing's Forbidden City and Chengde's Imperial Summer Resort), the temple was first built in 478 B.C. to offer sacrifices to the Great Sage. It was first expanded in the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-AD 24), and a variety of emperors added their touch during different dynasties. Many of today's structures date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Confucius Mansion: First built during Song Dynasty, the mansion had been home to 77 generations of Confucius direct descendants---"Yansheng" (Continuing the Line of the Sage) for more than 2500 years. The mansion grew into its current size with a total of 463 halls in Ming and Qing dynasties. It became the largest residential complex after Beijing's Forbidden City.

The mansion is divided into three sections: The front part is used for public business, the second serves as private quarters and the third is a garden. A complete tour of the mansion will take 2 hours.

Confucius Forest and Cemetery: The burial ground for Confucius and his family; China's largest and oldest cemetery. Covering 2 sq. km, the forest has thousands of graves and around 100,000 trees of over 1000 varieties, many planted by Confucius disciples over the years. Biking in this atmospheric cemetery park would be very educational and recreational.

After a whole day being with Confucius, you may need a break. How about a real fancy dinner---Confucius Family banquet?----Still can't get away from that darn Confucius, can you? But anyway, you'll like the food. It's a special Confucius cuisine in China. Liu Yi Shan Zhuang Restaurant and Qufu Da Jiu Lou Restaurant will serve you these mouth-watering dishes.

When you are ready to say bye bye to the Great Sage, don't forget to bring home some souvenirs. Check out the Dragon Head walking sticks and wooden sculptures. They will keep your memory of this great Confucius trip fresh.

If you are a kite lover, follow us to the Kite Capital of the World---Weifang!

Located in the middle of Shandong, Weifang attracts hundreds of thousands of kite lovers from all over the world during its annual International Kite Festival (April 20-25). Traditional folk song and dance presentation and dazzling fireworks highlight the opening ceremony of the festival, one of the largest kite-flying galas in the world.