Three Days Tour : Qufu, Taishan and Jinan from Qufu

Day 1: Qufu- Hometown of Confucius
Your tour guide will pick you up from your Qufu hotel’s lobby at prearranged time. Then heading directly to the Temple of Confucius. If you choose to start the tour at 7:30am, you will be able to watch the “Opening Gate Ceremony ” at the main entrance.

Temple of Confucius was first built in 478BC to commemorate Confucius. The temple has been reconstructed over the centuries. In total, it has undergone 15 major renovations, 31 large repairs, and numerous small building measures. More than 300 buildings erected through the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The temple was built according to the specification for imperial palaces with yellow roof-tiles and red-painted walls, they are surrounded by dark-green pine trees to create a color contrast with complementary colors.

Stroll around the halls and courtyards with your tour guide, learn about the symbolic significance of the architecture, admire the statue of Confucius, pay a visit to the stone tablets, steles and pavilions, discover Confucius’ life experience, and many other historic and cultural items related to Confucius and Confucius culture.

Then, walk through the small market continue to explore the Kong Family Mansion.The descendants of Confucius live here and they were in charge of conducting elaborate religious ceremonies on occasions such as plantings, harvests, honoring the dead, and birthdays. The first mansion was built in 1038 and was originally connected directly to the temple. The family mansion was inhabited by descendants of Confucius until 1937.Today, the mansion comprises 152 buildings with 480 rooms.

Next, enjoy a delicious Shandong flavor lunch in the restaurant. Afterwards heading to Confucius Cemetery either by car or tuktuk

Confucian Cemetery has served as the family graveyard of Confucius and his descendants for more than two thousand years. It is the largest, oldest, and best-preserved single-family cemetery in China. This final resting place of Confucius and his descendants is commonly known as the Forest of Confucius because of the large number of trees, over 20,000, planted with numerous tombstones, temples, pavilions and sculptures. There are about 3,600 tombstones dating from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties still standing in the cemetery.

After the tour finished, you will be transferred to your hotel in Qufu.

Day 2: Qufu- Mountain Taishan

At 08:00 in the morning our guide and driver will pick you up from your Qufu hotel, then heading to Qufu Train station, you will take the bullet train to Taishan.

Once arrived at Taishan, you will take a local car to the tourists center, then take an ecological sightseeing bus to the Mid-Heaven Gate (Zhongtianmen). Then take the cable car to South Heaven Gate (Nantianmen), which brings you an amazing view of the nearby rolling peaks.

From South Heaven Gate, hike about half an hour along the stairway to reach the summit of Mount Tai. Stroll around the top of the Mountain, enjoy amazing view, then you will enjoy a buffet lunch on the mountain.

After that, we reverse the trip back to the foot of the mountain, and then take a 20 minutes’ drive to the Dai Temple which is well-preserved Taoist temple. Spend one hour there exploring ancient buildings and sacrificial objects.

Then your tour guide will bring you to Jinan railway station, the the bullet train to Jinan, you will be transferred to your hotel in Jinan.

Day 3:Taishan – Jinan

Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel’s lobby, heading dirclty to Baotu Spring park.

Jinan is dubbed as “City of Springs” with many artesian springs gently roiling in azure pools and flowing steadily into Daming Lake.Baotu Spring have a history over 2,600 years.Stroll around the park, check out the ancient pavilions and buildings.

Then move on to Daming Lake. It is a large natural lake formed from a number of springs and with a large fountain, the park have charming landscape with willow trees and lotus flowers, pagodas, temples and an amusement park.

Enjoy lunch in the local restraint, then heading to Thousand Buddha Mountain. Visit temples, pavilions on the way to the top of the mountain. The hill is well-known for its Buddhist stone carving culture dating back to Sui Dynasty (581–618 AD).

Finally visit Shandong Provincial Museum which houses a collection of more than 210 000 historical artifacts natural history collection specimens.

After the tour you can choose to stay in Jinan or travel to your next destination