[2025 Suzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Suzhou Confucian Temple (Updated Jan)

Suzhou Confucian Temple is a niche attraction, and few people come here. The Confucian Temple is also known as the Stele Museum, covering an area of 15,000 square meters. There are four famous steles from the Song Dynasty and more than 7,000 sets of exhibits. Suzhou Confucian Temple was built in the Northern Song Dynasty and was founded by Fan Zhongyan. It was a prefectural school institution in the Song Dynasty and is now a provincial cultural relic protection unit and a national second-class museum. The exhibits here are rich, the exhibitions are exquisite, and the cultural atmosphere is strong, which is worth visiting and learning.

Su Zhou Wen Miao (Suzhou Stele Museum) - Yan Wenliang Memorial Hall - Wuqueqiao Road Take Line 5 or Line 4 to Nanmen Station, and visit Suzhou Wen Miao (Stele Museum). No ticket is required, but it is closed on Mondays. There are six white geese inside, which are very pleasant. The ginkgo leaves are beautiful in autumn, and in winter, the ginkgo leaves fall off, but the steles are also worth seeing, as they record a lot of interesting things. The Dacheng Hall is dedicated to Confucius, and his deeds are carved on the walls. Another courtyard is dedicated to Fan Zhongyan. If you want to learn more about Fan Zhongyan, you can visit Tianping Mountain in Mudu, which is the ancestral home of the Fan family. The Yan Wenliang Memorial Hall is in a European architectural style, and is a great place to take photos. It is free, and no ticket is required, but it is closed on Mondays. The place is not big, and the exhibition on the second floor changes from time to time, so you won't get bored even if you visit several times. It used to be connected to Canglang Pavilion, so you could visit Canglang Pavilion and then the art gallery, as if you were traveling between two worlds. Now the door is locked, and you have to enter through the alleys of the residential area outside. Wuqueqiao Road is a new popular check-in point in Suzhou, mainly because several small shops are decorated in a very artistic way.

Not far from Canglang Pavilion and Keyuan Garden is Suzhou Confucian Temple, which is also worth a visit. First, take a close look at the four Song Dynasty steles, then head to the courtyard to see the 800-year-old and 600-year-old ginkgo trees. According to the staff, the best time to visit was a week ago, and many leaves have already fallen, but you can still enjoy the golden autumn. Compared to the 200-year-old ginkgo tree at the popular Dinghui Temple, the ancient trees here, such as the Shou Ginkgo and Lianli Ginkgo, are more interesting. I think next fall, I must come at the best time to see the ancient trees in their golden glory.

On a weekend trip to Suzhou, I visited a lesser-known and free Confucian Temple, a sacred place of millennia-old culture and a stele museum. The Suzhou Confucian Temple displays precious inscriptions by famous people from different dynasties and important steles reflecting Suzhou's history, each carrying a rich history and culture. 👉The Confucian Temple is dedicated to Confucius. Visiting this place to feel the millennia-old culture and pay homage to the teacher of all sages is meaningful for everyone. 🌈Highlights: The four Song Dynasty steles cover a wide range of topics from different historical periods, each embodying the wisdom of the ancients and worth seeing👀 The exhibition hall displays the "Astronomical Map," "Geographical Map," "Emperor's Map," and "Pingjiang Map" steles, corresponding to the sky, earth, people, and city, respectively. 🗺️The "Pingjiang Map," the world's oldest stone-carved city map, bears witness to Suzhou's prosperity and changes through its crisscrossing streets and rivers. ✨Minglun Hall on the west side of the main hall Mainly set up in memory of Fan Zhongyan, it showcases the flourishing literary culture of Suzhou since the Ming and Qing dynasties✨ In front of Minglun Hall, several geese sing to the sky, and the pool reflects the ancient architecture, creating a peaceful and beautiful scene😊 ✨"Lian Shi" Cultural Exhibition Hall on the south side Set up in memory of the filial and honest official Lu Ji, it reminds people of his integrity and uprightness. 📚The Deshan Academy in the Confucian Temple houses the Suzhou Library's Guoxue Branch, which contains a large collection of Guoxue books. The library is small, so it's a good place to rest and read📖 after a tiring walk outside🙂 🏠: Suzhou Confucian Temple 🎫: Free🆓 ⏰: Closed on Mondays, open 9:00 am–4:30 pm on other days 🚗: You can park at the Workers' Cultural Palace across the street

Suzhou, a city known as the 'Paradise on Earth,' attracts countless tourists with its classical gardens🌸, small bridges and flowing water🚶‍♂️, and profound cultural heritage📚. In the heart of this city lies a temple that is not only a cultural landmark of Suzhou but also a symbol of a millennium-old academy—it is the Suzhou Confucian Temple🏛️. The Suzhou Confucian Temple, also known as Suzhou Prefecture School, was built in the second year of Jingyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1035 AD)📅, boasting nearly a thousand years of history. As the highest academy during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties📖, the temple has witnessed the cultural heritage and development of Suzhou and the entire Jiangnan region🌹. Upon entering the temple, the first thing that catches the eye is the majestic Dacheng Hall🏛️. Inside the hall, statues of Confucius and his disciples👨‍🏫👩‍🏫 are enshrined, with incense smoke curling🕊️, creating a solemn and respectful atmosphere. On both sides of the Dacheng Hall are the East and West Wing Rooms🛖, which were once places where ancient scholars studied diligently📚. Today, they display various artifacts and exhibitions related to the history of the temple🏺. The ancient ginkgo trees🌳 in the temple are also a highlight. These old ginkgo trees have witnessed the vicissitudes of the temple🌌. Every autumn🍂, the golden ginkgo leaves fall to the ground💛, adding a touch of romance and tranquility to the ancient building🌈. In addition to its rich historical culture, the Suzhou Confucian Temple is also an active academic center🎓. Today, the temple regularly hosts various cultural activities🎨, such as calligraphy exhibitions🖋️ and lectures on Chinese classics📣, attracting many cultural enthusiasts and scholars to participate🤝. Visiting the Suzhou Confucian Temple not only allows one to appreciate the charm of ancient architecture🏰 but also to feel the profound historical heritage and cultural transmission of the city📚. Here, you can travel through time🚀 and converse with ancient scholars💬; here, you can feel the power of knowledge💪 and the charm of culture🌟. If you come to Suzhou, don't miss this millennium-old academy🏛️. Step into the temple, let the weight of history cleanse your soul🧘‍♂️, and let the cultural heritage inspire your thoughts🤔. It is an unforgettable journey🚀 and a baptism of the soul✨.

South Gate is perfect for a lazy version of an autumn citywalk 1⃣️ Wen Temple Century-old ginkgo trees + red maples beside the steles No one is allowed to miss out 🎫 You can scan a QR code at the entrance to make a reservation 🆓 2⃣️ Canglang Pavilion The most beautiful part is the Canglang water at the entrance Free oil painting-like scenery, truly so beautiful it leaves you speechless, a paradise on earth 🎫 You can choose not to enter Canglang Pavilion & use a garden pass 🆓 3⃣️ Wen Temple Toy Market So many stalls selling trinkets, haven't browsed such a small market in a long time It's so full of life, as if returning to the days of childhood market days ————————— When I went, the ginkgo leaves were still a bit green, they should turn yellow by this weekend

|Suzhou Confucius Temple (1036). Suzhou Confucius Temple, located on People's Road in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The Suzhou Confucius Temple Prefecture School was established by Fan Zhongyan, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, in the second year of Jingyou (1035), and has a history of more than 980 years. The year after Fan Zhongyan took office as the governor of Suzhou, he set up a school and built a temple on the site of the South Garden. The temple and school are combined (that is, the Confucius Temple Prefecture School is combined). Fan Zhongyan hired Hu Yuan, a famous educator at the time, as a professor. Because of his good management of the school, it became famous all over the world and became a model for county schools in various places. After subsequent expansions, the scale of the Prefecture School Confucius Temple in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was very large, covering an area of nearly 200 acres. It was praised as the crown of the academies in the south of the Yangtze River. The existing area is only one-sixth of that time, and the important buildings that have been preserved include the Lingxing Gate, the Ji Gate, the Dacheng Hall, the Chongsheng Temple, the Seven Star Pool, and the Minglun Hall, which is now a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Silently I ascend the west tower alone, The moon is like a hook. The lonely plane tree locks the deep courtyard in clear autumn. · Every deep autumn, the plane tree becomes the most beautiful scenery in the city. Pieces of golden leaves gently fall from the tall plane trees, adding a bit of poetry to the concrete city. However, when it comes to the plane tree, it is always associated with a word of 'sadness'. In ancient poetry, there are many poems that use plane trees to express sad images. The reason, the author believes, is that in deep autumn, the plane tree will shed its leaves, and the ancients were accustomed to planting this auspicious tree in their own courtyards. Therefore, whenever they see a full view of plane tree leaves falling from the tree, sensitive people will feel sad. Therefore, the sad image of the plane tree is always inseparable from autumn, and the plane tree in the autumn wind and rain adds to the sense of sadness and loneliness. · There are many streets in Suzhou for admiring plane trees, Renmin Road, Xibei Street, Wusai Road... When going to the Confucius Temple, Seeing the plane tree leaves falling one after another outside the wall of the Confucius Temple, I couldn't help but press the shutter to record this autumn color! · 🏠Address: Next to the Confucius Temple on Renmin Road, Suzhou ⭐Tickets: None. 🚗Transportation: Subway Line 4 Sanyuanfang Station ⏰Time: All day ·

What an amazing place over 1000 stone tables , and the best tour guides ever . Thanks JT you have an incredible museum.