Weinan Confucius Temple, Shaanxi | The largest Confucius temple in western China.

The Confucius Temple was built in the Yuan Dynasty and the existing scale was formed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the most complete group of ancient Confucius Temple buildings preserved in Shaanxi Province since the 14th century. When you enter the Confucius Temple, you will first be attracted by a magnificent five-dragon wall. The wall uses the technique of relief, and the five giant dragons shuttle through it, as if they are going to rush out of the wall and leap into the sky. Opposite the wall is the Lingxing Gate, which is made of wood as a whole, and is full of magnificence in the solemnity. Behind it is the tall and solemn Ji Gate, the magnificent Dacheng Hall, the strict and spacious Minglun Hall, and the towering Zunjing Pavilion. The Confucius Temple is a place to worship Confucius and promote Confucian culture. The front temple and the back school practice Confucius's thoughts of emphasizing education and promoting literature. Its establishment itself reflects the respect for human nature that Confucianism has for people with self-consciousness. 🌿The architectural complex of the Confucius Temple is divided into four courtyards, from south to north, they are the glazed five-dragon wall, Lingxing Gate, Pan Pool, Ji Gate, Dacheng Hall, Minglun Hall, Zunjing Pavilion, etc., forming a north-south axis of 200 meters long. Lingxing Gate is the main gate of the Confucius Temple. The gate is a Xuan Mountain style, composed of three wooden archways, with five heavy arches, supplemented by seven, five, and three flowers, decorated with dragons, phoenixes, immortals, lions, horses, flowers, etc. The pillars go straight to the outside of the house, commonly known as the sky pillar. The top is decorated with glazed panlong, flower sleeves and treasure gourds. 🌿The architectural complex of the Confucius Temple is divided into four courtyards: 1⃣From Lingxing Gate to Ji Gate is the first courtyard. The ancient cypresses in the courtyard are towering. It is said that these cypresses were planted in the Yuan and Qing Dynasties. There is a Pan Pool in the courtyard, with a double-hole stone bridge in the middle, and the pool is surrounded by stone railings. There are symmetrical east and west houses in the courtyard. The east side is the "Dressing Pavilion" and the west side is the "Zhi Zhai Pavilion". There are also six pavilions recording the reconstruction of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. 2⃣The second courtyard is composed of Ji Gate to Dacheng Hall. Dacheng Hall is the main building of the Confucius Temple and the most magnificent in scale. It is located on the central axis. The entire temple base is a high platform made of stone. The base of the platform is a moon platform, surrounded by stone railings, and carved with panlong patterns. Dacheng Hall is three rooms wide and five rooms wide, four rooms deep, and a tube tile hip roof. On both sides of the main hall are east and west corridors, each with thirteen rooms. 3⃣The third courtyard is composed of Minglun Hall. Minglun Hall was built in the fourth year of Ming Hongwu. The hall has five rooms, and there are east and west "stele forests", "wine masters", and "library masters" on both sides. The four-character plaque of "Teacher's Dignity" is hung in the middle above. 4⃣The fourth courtyard is composed of Zunjing Pavilion. Zunjing Pavilion is a place for storing scriptures. The platform is 3.5 meters high and surrounded by flower walls. It is a double-eave hip roof. There are wing rooms on the east and west sides.