Nanjing Confucius Temple: A Millennium-Old Confucian Sanctuary by the Qinhuai River
Overview
The Nanjing Confucius Temple, also known as the Temple of Confucius or the Civil Temple, is located on Gongyuan Street on the north bank of the Qinhuai River in the Qinhuai District of Nanjing. It is one of China's four major Confucian temples (the other three being the Beijing Confucius Temple, the Qufu Confucius Temple, and the Jilin Confucius Temple). The core architectural complex consists of three main parts: the Confucian Temple, the School, and the Jiangnan Examination Hall, covering an area of approximately 26,300 square meters. The temple is not only a place for worshipping Confucius (551-479 BC) but also an important witness to China's ancient imperial examination system—the Jiangnan Examination Hall was once the largest imperial examination venue in Chinese history, with a peak of 20,644 examination cells. As the core landmark of Nanjing's historical and cultural city, the Confucius Temple-Qinhuai Scenic Area was designated a national 5A-level tourist attraction in 2010, receiving over 30 million visitors annually.
