Qufu, also known as the "sacred city" of the East, is one of China's most famous historic cities of culture. It is the birthplace of Confucius----the famous and the great thinker, statesman and educator. It is also the place where Confucius gave his lectures, the place where he was buried in 479 BC, and the place where people offer sacrifices to him. Mencius, another famous thinker and educationist, and a pupil of the great sage himself, was also born in Qufu.

Qufu was the central base of the eastern tribes in ancient China and was one of the areas where Dawenkou and the Longshan culture, famed for its black pottery, were found. It was also a city of music in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Confucius was born on Mt. Ni (551 BC), grew up in Jueli and was buried near the River Si. He gave his lectures from the Xing Altar and attended office in the capital of the Lu Kingdom, Qufu itself.

Qufu’s Climatic Features: warm temperate continental monsoon climate; 4 distinct seasons; sunshine of 2433.3 hours annually; frost-free period of 199 days; and Average Temperature: average annual of 13.6 C; 26.8 C in July and -1.7 C in January; daily difference of 10.2-11.5 C.

Qufu is not only a city with a rich history, it is also famous for its architecture. In Qufu, there are altogether more than 412 cultural and historical relics under government protection. Among them, the Residence of Confucius, the Confucius Temple , and the Confucius Forest are the most famous. UNESCO put these sites on the list of world heritage sights in 1994.