The temple was once
Shanghai's most
prestigious learning institution and is now the only temple of
Confucius (551-479 BC), China's greatest philosopher, in downtown
Shanghai. It is also the biggest second book market in Shanghai.
The Confucian Temple is a typical combination of temple and
school in ancient China. It was built in 1294 (Yuan Dynasty), when
Shanghai was just taking shape from a small fishing village.
The temple has witnessed Shanghai's growing progress of more
than 700 years, from a small Chinese county to one of the world's
biggest metropolises now confronting the problem of integration the
modern with the traditional.
The temple was once the headquarters of the Stagger Society, a
rebel group that revolted against the Qing's reign in Shanghai from
1851 to 1855. During the Culture Revolution, it was badly damaged
but in 1995 it was designated for renovation by the Shanghai
government.
And now, the temple is no longer the study and research center
of Confucianism, instead it is gaining fame as a secondhand book
market and is the destination for book-lovers and collectors.
Every Sunday, thousands of local collectors swarm to the
Shanghai Confucian Temple to bargain and buy, exchange or trade
rare editions and old books. The market is not big, taking less
than 100 square meters of the temple, but it is definitely the best
and most mature secondhand book-market in Shanghai.
Address：No.215, Wenmiao Road near Zhonghua
Road
Tel：8621-63779101, 8621-63771815
Hours：9am - 4:30pm
Tickets：1 yuan/person (the secondhand book
market)
10 yuan/person, 5 yuan/student (the whole temple)
To get there: Bus routes No. 911, 18, 24, 451,
715, 775, 451, 789, 6, 929; (in future Metro Line 8 which is
currently still under construction).
Website: http://www.confuciantemple.com/chinese/zhuye/zhuye.asp
Location of Shanghai Confucian
Temple
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Travel tips:
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Many foreign magazines are also available in the market, quite a
lot of foreigners also pay frequent visits there.
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The market usually starts at 7am, and is most crowded from 9am to
11am.
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The market will not open if it's raining, and will close if it
starts to rain.
(Shanghai Daily July 16, 2007)
