Confucius Museum
孔子博物馆
A national first-grade museum that opened in 2019, housing about 700,000 artifacts from the Kong Mansion's collection. Ming-era robes of the Duke Yansheng, Kong Mansion archives, and Shang and Zhou bronzes are its highlights.
The Confucius Museum stands on Confucius Avenue in southern Qufu. It opened officially in 2019, with the design overseen by academician Wu Liangyong. It covers 55,000 square meters and houses nearly 700,000 artifacts handed down through generations of the Kong family. It is known as the Fourth Kong, offering a way to understand Confucius' thought and the Kong lineage. The museum has two floors. The upper floor has permanent exhibitions including Confucius' Era, Confucius' Life, Confucius' Wisdom, Confucius and Chinese Civilization, Confucius and World Civilization, and the Kong Mansion Archives. It uses multimedia and artifacts to tell the story of Confucius' life and the spread of Confucianism. The lower floor, Passing Down the Poetry and Rites, displays the finest pieces from the Kong Mansion's old collection. These include Ming-dynasty court robes, python robes, and gold crowns of the Duke Yansheng, the most complete series of Ming official robes preserved in China. There are also brushwork and objects bestowed by Qing emperors, Shang and Zhou ritual bronzes, Han-dynasty pictorial stone carvings, and 300,000 items from the Kong Mansion archives, which document several centuries of daily life in the Duke Yansheng's household during the Ming and Qing. The statue of Confucius in the entrance hall and the giant wall of Analects text are popular photo spots. Admission is free, but you must book in advance with real-name registration through the museum's official WeChat account. It is closed on Mondays except public holidays, and entry stops at 16:00. A visit takes about two hours, and free timed guided tours are available. Getting there: a taxi from the Confucius Temple South Gate takes about 10 minutes, and buses K01 and K05 stop nearby. It is about 15 minutes by car from Qufu East Station, so it can serve as a stop on arrival or before leaving Qufu. Notes: tripods and flash are not allowed inside, the costume galleries are dimly lit, and summer booking slots fill up quickly, so book several days ahead.
Opening hours
Closed Mon; 09:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00)
Nearby sights
- Confucius Six Arts City
- Ming City Wall of Qufu
- Gulou Street & Wumaci Street
- Temple of Confucius
- Kong Family Mansion
- Temple of Yan Hui
- Temple of the Duke of Zhou
- Cemetery of Confucius (Kong Lin)