Confucius Temple and Imperial College

On Guozijian Street, a short walk from the Lama Temple, stand two related sites run together as the Confucian Temple and Imperial College Museum. The Confucius Temple was built in 1302, during the Yuan dynasty, and was the place where Confucius was honoured with state ceremonies. Beside it, the Imperial College, or Guozijian, founded under the Yuan, was the highest state institution of learning through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The temple covers roughly 20,000 square metres and is described by Beijing's tourism office as the second largest Confucius temple in China after the one in Qufu.

In the temple's front courtyard stand 198 stone tablets carrying the names of more than 51,000 jinshi, the candidates who passed the highest level of the imperial examinations in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Fourteen Ming and Qing stele pavilions stand inside the temple. The main building, the Hall of Great Accomplishment (Dachengdian), holds the central shrine to Confucius and a collection of ancient Chinese musical instruments, while exhibition halls on either side of the courtyard cover his life and times. Look out for an old cypress known as the Touch-Evil Cypress, which is linked to a folk story about a corrupt official.

Next door, the Imperial College is centred on Biyong Hall, built in 1784, where Qing emperors gave lectures. A glazed memorial archway stands in front of it, and the Yilun Hall to the north once served as a library. One entrance and one ticket cover both sites.

According to the official visitor information published by the Beijing government in 2024, the museum is open from 9am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.30pm, and is closed on Mondays except on statutory holidays. Tickets can be bought at the ticket office or through the Ticket Service section of the museum's official WeChat account. It is a national second-class museum and a 4A tourist attraction.

Allow one to two hours. The courtyards are quiet compared with the main imperial sights, which makes this a good choice for anyone interested in Chinese education and scholarship, or simply in a calmer corner of old Beijing. Guozijian Street is named after the college, and the Lama Temple and Wudaoying Hutong are close by.