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Qufu
From Wikitravel
Qufu (曲阜 Qūfù) is a town in Shandong Province. It's about 2 hours by bus from Jinan. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and famous as the birthplace of Confucius.
[edit] Get in
Bus from Jinan is the usual way, or on a tour. There are buses all day, but check the last departure or you may be spending the night.
There are regular all buses from Tai'an (1 hour), and Qingdao (5 hours).
The main Beijing-Shanghai railway line passes through Yanzhou which is 15 km west of Qufu. You can easily get taxi (about 40 RMB) or bus to Qufu from the station there. The bus should be about 5 RMB.
Since early 2009, it is possible to fly with Shanghai Airlines from Beijing and Shanghai to Jining, the district that Qufu belongs to.
[edit] Get around
Walk or if you stand in one place too long, hordes of people will offer to transport you via all manner of vehicle, from rickshaw, to bicycle, to taxi, to beast. It's small enough to walk.
[edit][add listing] See
There are quite a few temples. You pay for admission to all the good sites and wander among the sacred buildings, every day buildings, and so forth. A guide or guidebook is essential as many of the sites are very big.
- Temple of Confucius (孔庙)
- Cemetery of Confucius
- Kong Family Mansion
- Temple of Yan Hui
The main areas to see are the Confucian temples, the Confucian mansions, and the Confucian forest (just north of town). It's very touristy and loaded with guides herding sightseers with little flags and megaphones. English is not widely spoken.
One tip is to go to the Confucian cemetery towards the end of the day (maybe at 4) and then stroll around until the tour groups are leaving, and you will have the forest for yourself. Walk to Confucius grave and share some silent moments across 2,500 years with him. A treat if you have been travelling around China for a while and are tired of hoards of people and noise.
The town itself is quick to walk through and nice along the main streets. There are some old, restored gates and a winding creek to add atmosphere.
[edit][add listing] Do
At night the city walls are decorated with ornamental lights. The moat around the walls make for a picturesque walk at night. Many of the local elderly gather around these places to dance.
There is a swanky bar located, literally, in the city wall. It's usually a bit empty, but the bar tenders speak a bit of English and are very friendly. Local expats can be found there on most weekend nights.
[edit][add listing] Buy
There are tourist stands all around the temples and shouts of "hello! hello!" can be irritating. The main buys are copies of the Analects and a "chop" with your name engraved on it or something like that. Otherwise, it's the usual tourist stuff.
[edit][add listing] Eat
A note about eating here. Most restaurants you will easily find have marked up prices due to the tourist nature of the city. Beware asking cab-drivers or "wooden cab" drivers as they seem to receive kickbacks. You can expect to pay at least CNY 100+ getting a meal for two if you are not careful and saavy. BEWARE.
- Qufu International Youth Hostel, Gu Lou Bei Lu (Just inside the northern gate.), ☎ 0537-4418989. It shouldn't come as much surprise that the cheapest place to eat in Qufu is the "bar" inside the International Youth Hostel. You can find a good bit of western food as well as a variety of standard Chinese fare. CNY 15-40. edit
[edit][add listing] Drink
Konfujia in black jar (46%)
[edit][add listing] Sleep
Finding a place to sleep isn't difficult, as you will probably be approached by people offering accommodation. Outside of the tourist season you can probably bargain pretty hard on the prices.
The Qufu International Youth Hostel is a very nice place to stay. With a friendly staff, and entirely new building this is an excellent place to sleep while exploring Qufu and its surroundings. The hostel is located at the northwestern end of the main street inside the city walls. It is 140 RMB for a double/triple with private shower.
[edit] Get out
- Jinan is the nearest major city. Yanzhou is the nearest railway station.
tai an has a railway station as well
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