Quzhou

During the Southern Song dynasty the descendant of Confucius at Qufu, the Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou fled south with the Song Emperor to Quzhou, while the newly established Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in the north appointed Kong Duanyou's brother Kong Duancao who remained in Qufu as Duke Yansheng. From that time up until the Yuan dynasty, there were two Duke Yanshengs, once in the north in Qufu and the other in the south at Quzhou. An invitation to come back to Qufu was extended to the southern Duke Yansheng Kong Zhu by the Yuan dynasty Emperor Kublai Khan. The title was taken away from the southern branch after Kong Zhu rejected the invitation, so the northern branch of the family kept the title of Duke Yansheng. The southern branch still remained in Quzhou where they lived to this day. Confucius's descendants in Quzhou alone number 30,000. …

The centre of Quzhou sits on a broad basin along the Qu River, a tributary of the Qiantang River. The Qu River flows roughly southeast for 81.5 km (50.6 mi) and is flanked on both sides by hills. Almost all the rivers of Quzhou feed into the Qiantang, which ultimately empties into Hangzhou Bay. The terrain is higher in the west and the east. The territory of Quzhou Municipality is made up of plains (15%), hills (36%), and mountains (49%). In the north is the Qianli Gang (千里岗) mountain range and in the west the Yu Mountains (玉山脉). The highest mountains, the range known as the Xianxia Ling (仙霞岭), lie in the south. The highest point in the city is at Dalong Gang (大龙岗), which rises to 1,500 m above sea level. 70.7% of the land is covered with forest. The rest is densely irrigated and farmed, producing citrus fruits, tea and mulberry leaves. …

Ancestral Temple of the Southern Confucian Clan Lanke Mountain, 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of the city proper. It features green peaks and clear waters, and the huge rocks on top of the mountain support a horizontal rock to form a natural arch, the Tiansheng Bridge ("Nature-Formed").