Travel Guide

Most people only know this place as the Peasant Movement Institute, but it was actually the Panyu County Confucian Temple in ancient times. The term "Confucian Temple" is more familiar to people in northern China, but in Guangdong, it is called a "Confucian School." Confucian Schools served two functions: as a temple for worshiping Confucius and as a school. Therefore, Confucian Schools were always a combination of a temple and a school. The temple was the main building for worshiping Confucius, and included the Lingxing Gate, Pan Pond, Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, and Chongsheng Shrine. The school was the place for teaching (the function of an ancient school) and cultivating talent, and included the Minglun Hall, Kuixing Pavilion, and Zunjing Pavilion. The Panyu Confucian School was built in 1370 (the third year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty) and has been repaired and renovated to varying degrees over the years. The beams of the Confucian School still retain some of the styles and structures of the Ming Dynasty, but many wooden components were replaced during the Qing Dynasty (the new structures were replaced, but some were modeled after the Ming Dynasty style). After the imperial examination system was abolished in 1905, the educational function of the Panyu Confucian School gradually disappeared. Historically, there were three Confucian Schools in Panyu Ancient City (ancient Guangzhou): the Guangzhou Prefecture Confucian School, the Nanhai County Confucian School, and the Panyu County Confucian School. The Panyu Confucian School was the smallest of the three, and the other two have disappeared, leaving only the Panyu Confucian School. Address: Peasant Movement Institute, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Transportation: Take Guangzhou Metro Line 1 to Peasant Movement Institute Station, Exit C