Qufu

Birthplace of Confucius and home of the Kong family for over two thousand years. The Temple of Confucius, the Cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong Family Mansion are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Qufu sits on the flat plain of Shandong province in eastern China, a small city that has been dominated by one family for more than two thousand years. Confucius was born here around 551 BCE, into a branch of the Kong clan that had fallen into relative poverty. He spent much of his adult life traveling between the warring states, offering advice to rulers who rarely took it. He returned to Qufu near the end of his life and died there. His descendants never left. The Kong family compound grew century by century into one of the largest private architectural complexes in China, a walled city of temples, halls, and courtyards. The grove of trees planted around his tomb became a forest. The state has designated Qufu a sacred site. The Kongs still live there.