Trifter

It is said that this temple was a place to worship, study and learn Chinese philosophy, art and management. Although it is called a temple it is in fact an administration school and has a long history as an academy.

As you approach the main entrance to the temple, which is on the Qin Huai river side, you will walk through arcades of shops and souvenir sellers. In addition to the shops and souvenirs there are some very interesting tea houses and places that sell Chinese artifacts. Be careful with the artifacts, the Chinese have mastered the art of counterfeit and you can be talked into buying a truly ancient antique that was manufactured a couple of blocks away last week! Having said that there are some interesting purchases for souvenir hunters and half the fun is determining the price. Be ruthless and threaten to walk out if you don’t get your price. The other thing to keep in mind is that the shop assistants work on commission and a few yuan makes a lot of difference to their pay packet and probably not much difference to your pocket – be a little generous, most people in China do it pretty tough.

There are men with rickshaws who will take you on a short tour of the area – be ready to haggle for a bargain! And you can wander along the banks of the river and have a coffee or a tea. Boats are available to tour the river and you will be quite surprised just what you will see along the way.

The entrance to the temple is through a large, ornate gateway leading into a courtyard featuring statues of the disciples of Confucius. This courtyard then leads into the Kongzi Academy which was an administration school where Chinese scholars sat tests to enter government positions. At one stage there were thousands of students in the academy. The Japanese all but destroyed the area in 1937 when they took Nanjing. It was a brutal assault and the buildings have mostly been rebuilt based on the older foundations.

On the other side of the academy there is a courtyard which is devoted to Confucius and also a Museum of very lovely and intricate jade sculptures.

Take an afternoon in your intinerary in Nanjing to visit the Confucius temple. You will not be disappointed. AND for the really devoted tourist you can dress in traditional costume and have your photo taken – but maybe I will leave that till another time!