Confucian Temple

Located in the southeast part of Wuwei City, the Confucian Temple is actually a temple in memory of Confucius who was a famous educator in the Spring and Autumn Period. It was built in the 4th year (1,439 A.D.) during the period of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (1,368- A.D.-1,644 A.D.), which is actually a magnificent architecture cluster with the title of “the Champion of the Academy in Gansu Province”. The temple has a history of more than 500 years and covers an area of a little over 1,500 square meters and is the largest and best-preserved temple dedicated to Confucius in Gansu Province.

The part on the eastern side is called the Wenchang Temple and is accessed via the Mountain Gate (Shanmen). Here you will find a stage for dramatic performances. On the left and right hand sides of the Temple are the shrines of Master Niu and Master Liu respectively while on the side opposite the entrance is the Chongsheng Shrine or Shrine of Worship. The courtyard with an array of various lush green pine trees has a collection of highly prized and famous stones steles. The most famous of these is the Western Xia (1038-1227AD) Tablet, a listed Chinese national treasure.

The Confucius Temple occupies a central position in the Confucian Temple complex and it is here that offerings are made in honor of Confucius. Other notable structures to be found here are the Dacheng Hall, Hastate Gate (Jimen), Lattice Gate(Lingxingmen), the Bridgeof the "Number One Scholar" (Zhuangyuan Bridge) and the Banchi Pool. These latter features are in the south side of the complex. To the north there is the Sutra pavilion and in the west is the Liangzhou Mansion that houses the Confucian Academy.

The well-preserved and symmetrically aligned historic buildings together with the collection of stone steles and fine collection of scriptures means that Confucian Temple occupies a very important position in the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation as a whole.

Now the temple functions as a museum- Wuwei Museum. There are more than 44,000 culture relics in the temple. There are the Bronze Flying Horse, the Medicine Bamboo slips, the Etiquette Bamboo slips, the wood carvings and the stone inscriptions from the Tang Dynasty in the museum. There are also 7 exhibit halls in the museum, which display the character descriptions and photos, reflecting the history of Wuwei City from the New Stone Age to the Qing Dynasty (1,616 A.D.-1,911 A.D.). There are more and more visitors from all over the world to come here for visiting and researching every year.

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