About 2km north of town on Lindao Lu is the peaceful Confucius Forest, a cemetery of pine and cypress covering 200 hectares bounded by a 10km-long wall. Confucius and more than 100,000 of his descendants have been buried here for the past 2000 years, a tradition still ongoing.
When Confucius died in 479 BC he was buried on the bank of the Si River beneath a simple marker. In the Western Han dynasty, Emperor Wudi deemed Confucianism the only worthy school of thought, and the Tomb of Confucius (孔子墓; Kǒngzǐ Mù) became a place of pilgrimage. Today the tomb is a simple grass mound enclosed by a low wall and faced with a Ming-dynasty stele. Pairs of stone guardians stand at the ready. The sage’s son and grandson are buried nearby, and scattered through the forest are dozens of temples and pavilions.
A slow walk through the parklike cemetery can take a couple of hours, though Confucius’ tomb is just a 15-minute walk from the entrance (turn left after the carts). Open-air shuttles (one way/return ¥10/20) allow you to hop on and off in the forest.
Sightseeing carts depart for the forest from the corner of Houzuo Jie and Gulou Dajie. Otherwise take a pedicab (¥10) or bus 1 (¥2) from Gulou Beijie. Walking takes about 30 minutes.
