10 attractions in Shanxi's two cities

Attraction 7

Datong Confucian Temple, Datong

Address: The intersection of Fuxuemen Street and Zhuyige Street, Pingcheng district, Datong city, Shanxi province
Opening hours: 8:30 am-6 pm
Ticket Price: 40yuan ($5.46)/person

Datong Confucian Temple, originally built in 1396, the 29th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is located at the southeast of the city.

Confucius, who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), was a great thinker, educator, and the founder of Confucianism. The temple is a large Ming-style architecture complex reflecting the wisdom of ancient people. The temple was listed as one of the provincial cultural relics on Jan 12, 1996.
It was an important place for the ancient Chinese to worship Confucius and to induct people into the Confucian school.

The temple bears a profound and splendid history. Its original site used to be the country's highest institution - Zhong Shu Xue (the central educational institution) in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Imperial College in the Liao and the Jin dynasites (916-1234).

Datong government repaired the temple in 2008 to better protect the memorial site of the ancient ideological mentor and the treasure house of traditional culture.