The Temple of Confucius, located in the downtown area of Qufu, Shandong Province, was first built in 478 AD to commemorate the well-known philosopher and educator Confucius. After around 2,100 years of development, this temple has become the largest one of its kind among more than 1,600 Confucius temples across China. The current existing buildings of the Temple of Confucius in Qufu were mainly built during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, occupying an area of 21.8 hectares. Together with the neighboring Confucius Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius, this building cluster was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.