Jinan and Qufu, Shandong

2019 Summer Trip to Asia

September 7, 2019 --  Jinan and Qufu, Shandong, China

Jinan is the capital of the Shandong Province. We started early this morning for a long day of touring. We spent half a day at the Daminghu (Great Ming Lake) area and then worked our way towards Taian, where we would spend the night but with half a day visiting Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, further south of Taian. This itinerary was really packed and without the shopping stops we were able to see a lot of sights along the way. The problem with me now is trying to remember all these places since I did not have time to take notes on this trip. 

A quick snapshot of the Grand Mercure Hotel as we were leaving in the morning.

Heihuquan (Black Tiger Spring), Jinan

Our driver dropped us off at the end of a narrow alley which surprised me a bit until we walked over to this gate entrance of the Heihu Spring. Apparently, the Heihu Spring is one of the scenic spots around this area near Daminghu. I assumed that this whole area must be the old city with a moat surrounding the area. Daminghu is to the north and Heihuquan at the southern edge. And what a surprise this was!

The simple entrance of the place, free entry.

Inside the park, many locals taking turns to get water from the spring. Supposedly the water is clean and with some medicinal properties. Not sure if it's for real.

We did not get to go there but the reconstructed Liberation Memorial Hall on the city wall must be the place to be for a view of this city.

The Spring with water rushing out from the three tiger heads.

The moat.

Sculptures of the two tigers near the park.

"Spring of Blessings"

This is a fun place to spend a couple of hours. It is both active and serene at the same time depending on which direction you are looking at.

Peaceful and quiet on one side of the moat.

And active on the other side.

Daminghu (Great Ming Lake) or "Lake of the Great Splendor"

Daminghu is the largest lake in the city of Jinan and one of city's main natural and cultural landmarks. It is located in the north of the old city and took up half of its space. We spent close to two hours here and only covered less than half of the park.

I don't think I can remember all the scenic spots that we went through, hopefully looking through these photos you will be able to see how beautiful this place is. I believe this was also the backdrop of one of the very popular Chinese TV soap opera shown a few years back.

"Daminghu"

"The world's best spring scenic area."

Jiuqu Pavilion (Nine-curve Pavilion)

By the time we came out from the front entrance, we were ready for lunch but we had to wait til we get to the city of Qufu, which is located south of Jinan and Taian.

Qufu--Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion

Qufu is a much smaller city than Jinan or Taian and it's best known as the hometown of Confucius, the great philosopher and educator. There are three important sites in this city that together made the Three Confucian (San Kong): the Confucius Temple, the Cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong Family Mansion. All these three sites are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1994.

Kong Family Cuisine was listed on our itinerary, which means they would take us for the special meal made famous by the Kong family. BTW, Kong is the last name for Confucius (Kong Zi). I was really looking forward to this meal. We were taken to a very busy restaurant with a name signifying the Kong Family. Not sure how authentic this is but we were hungry so I guess anything will work for us now.

A plate of fatty roast duck.

Some sweet ginkgo nuts.

A pot of thick green bean threads.

A few 'mantou' bread.

Some 'tortilla' with green onions wrapped inside.

Well, I have to say, I was not impressed.

Once we took care of lunch, it was time for us to check out these important sites.

San Kong - The three sites are all located at one spot known as the San Kong Tourist Zone or Qufu Ancient Ming City. First, the Confucius Temple, then the Kong Family Mansion, and last the Cemetery.

Entering the tourist zone.

Confucius Temple South Gate, a very busy place.

The San Kong

Going into the Temple area.

School (Apricot Altar)

A retired teacher in front of the 'school'.

Main hall of the temple.

"Example for teachers in million decades"

Classroom

Kong Family Mansion

Way in the back in the garden of the mansion, a traditional Chinese opera troupe was putting on a show for the public. After resting here for a little listening to the opera, we were tired and decided not to go to the cemetery which is further down and we will have to take a little more walk to get there.

Four Points by Sheraton, Taian, Shandong

With that, we left Qufu and drove back north to the city of Taian where we would spend the night. Our guide asked if we wanted to go out for dinner or getting the $30 reimbursement and take care of that on our own. We decided to just find something nearby instead of going out. We were really tired by now. It's good to be in the clean and comfortable hotel room.

After checking out the surrounding area, we decided to just go to the hotel restaurant for a buffet dinner. We needed to just relax and enjoy a nice dinner with food that we are familiar with.

I wonder how one would eat those starfish?

A good scrumptious dinner!

The servers in this restaurant were all wonderful and courteous. 

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."   -- Lamentations 3:25~26