Qufu City, the birthplace of Confucius, a great thinker and educator in China's history, has started a major construction project to bring back some historic sites featuring the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

With a total investment of 50 million yuan (US$6 million), the city will restore some Ming Dynasty city towers and city wall, a xanadu formerly built for Emperor Qianlong of the succeeding Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a number of ancient mansions, stone-paved streets and the once bustling commercial area, and build some new facilities to accommodate tourists, said an official in charge of the city's tourism.

Scheduled to be completed in 2005, the project expects to further highlight the city as a tourist attraction, which is famous for the Confucius Temple, where the sage gave lectures, Confucius Mansion, where the Confucius' family lived and Confucius Forest, where they rest in peace.

(Xinhua News Agency December29, 2001)