China's second-largest Confucian temple, begun in 1302, sits beside the Imperial College, the empire's highest school from the Yuan to the Qing. The courtyard holds 198 stone tablets carved with the names of 51,624 jinshi who passed the top imperial exam.
- Address
- 13-15 Guozijian Street, Dongcheng District
- Hours
- May-Oct 08:30-18:00 (ticket sales stop 17:00); Nov-Apr 08:30-17:00 (sales stop 16:30) (visitbeijing.com.cn); visitbeijing's separate temple page says closed Mon, so check before a Monday visit
- Best time to go
- Morning, Afternoon · About 1.5 h
- Price
- Entry CNY 30 for both (visitbeijing.com.cn)
- Price level
- ¥¥
Details can change. Check hours and prices before you go.
Good to know
- Walk the length of Guozijian Street with its four painted archways, the only such street left in Beijing (visitbeijing.com.cn).
- Look for the Qianlong stone drums outside Dacheng Gate.