After Liaocheng and the Yellow River, we turned east to Qufu. Where Liaocheng has the Canal as its main tourist magnet, Qufu has Confucius.
This is a common form of Confucian statues, found on a corner in downtown Qufu. He was born near here in 551BC, and after a life of moving around China serving in various kingdoms, he returned here. He died in 479 BC, was buried on the end of town, which soon became a designation for pilgrims devoted to his teachings. 
As with all Chinese cities, Qufu is struggling with preservation v development, such that old memorial gateways get pinned in on both sides with new buildings and become surrounded by parked cars.
On the edge of the city center, new apartments attempt to balance the two with distinctively Chinese roof forms on top of distinctively non-Chinese building forms.
Even street furniture, such as this trash receptacle, attempts the same.
A network of waterways through the city have been developed into pedestrian walkways and ...
...parks using traditional design elements.
This upscale hotel, The Oriental Confucian Garden Hotel (how could we have not stayed at a place with that name!), and it seemed with many other new buildings in the city center, are restricted by zoning requirements to low to mid rise heights, such that the roof forms seem appropriate on them.
Zhufeng seems quite pleased with the guest room ...
...as was I with the garden and its wonderful English signage.
Downtown has the usual mix of bikes and cars, flags and signage, ...
...and pedi-cabs, with ...
...drivers willing to pause for a photograph.
The three sisters found the electric three-wheeled "people movers" very handy....
...and it seems this man is considering trading his bike for one, and having difficulty over color selection.
All of the small scale vehicles have not put city buses out of service, so route Number One was sought out, and....
...taken to the end of the line and back.
Much has been built during the two and a half centuries of development of Qufu as the font of Confucianism and as a destination for devotees and tourists alike. The Temple of Confucius is a large walled space in the city center. At 8:00AM the gates are opened with ....
...a flourish, indeed a mini-pagent.
So tourists gather for it, armed with an array of photographic devices, out in front to see the performances, or...
...along the sides to see performers "backstage", waiting for their cue to ...
...face the folks with their routine. Here the ladies are extolling one of the virtues Confucius championed: literacy.
Meanwhile, one of the men limbers up for their act....
...martial gymnastics.
The show is over, the last photos are taken, now...
...its time to pass through the many votive gateways, and into the four acre site.
A series of structures, laid out on a north-south axis, lead to the Dacheng Dian ("Hall of Great Perfection"), where...
...reverence is paid to and ...
...incense is burned for the Master.

Quietly sitting in front of the Hall are four pairs of white ducks, with one golden one hiding in back. Hmmm, what could they symbolize?
Visitors are not allowed in, but with some reverential stooping....
...most of the great sage can be seen.
Continuing along the axis, another large buiding allows visitors to enter and pay reverence to ....
...Confucius's wife, Qiguan
There are various halls along both sides of the main buildings; this is the Hall to Ancestors' Tablets.
And even further back is this little building: the Temple to the Local God of the Land. 
Immediate descendants of Confucius built residences next to the Temple, and over time.... 
...it has become a family compound that rivals the Temple in size and number of buildings.

Somehow seems fitting that a couple of elderly men visiting are still wearing the blue clothing popularized during the Maoist Era.
The buildings are in very good condition and....
...interiors are arranged with furnishings and decorations (here a reception hall) ...
...which would have been used when it was a family "home" (here a bedroom).

It seems the maintenance crew uses traditional implements.
The garden in the farthest northern end of the compound (an arrangement found in the Imperial Palace in Beijing as well) is rather modest...
and a pleasant place to sit after all that walking (nothing like needing to come to China to see a "selfie stick" for the first time).

And it is no surprise that around Confucius's Tomb eventually a large cemetery, with a very ceremonial gate, would be built.

The Lion Pair, on the sides of the gate,  are commonly found, but the cub on this one is uncommon.
Usually it is sucking on one of Mama's claws, but here it is being firmly held down by Mama's paw, and is looking up with a "What did I do?" look.

Further along one passes votive gateways...
...a bridge over a stream...
...graves of many others...
...some having their own ceremonial walkways...
...(note the opportunity to get a drink from a vending machine)...
...until the pilgrimage's distination is finally reached:...
...the Tomb of "The Lord Propagator of Culture Ultimate Sage and Great Accomplisher" (not my translation!).
For an interesting piece on the fate of these Confucian sites and artifacts during the Cultural Revolution, google this:
Commemorating Confucius in 1966-67 | China Heritage Quarterly

Meanwhile, Zhufeng celebrated her 50th Birthday in Qufu. 
...A dinner of local dishes in a modest restaurant was followed by...
...a very decadent chocolate cake Zhuchun brought from Beijing...complete with cake knife and folks for use in ones hotel room.

After a week of traveling south by train and buses, we went to the New Qufu Train Station....
...which is another example of large space illuminated by day-lighting...
...and had another chance to gaze upon the "Ultimate Sage and Great Accomplisher", before the two-hour ride to Beijing.