Shanghai's Confucius Temple, dating from 1855 (rebuilt after the Taiping Rebellion destroyed the original), occupies a formal compound in the southern Old Town. The temple complex includes the main hall, gardens, and a book market that operates on weekends — one of the few remaining open-air book markets in central China.
The weekend book market, held in the temple forecourt and surrounding lanes, is primarily in Chinese-language materials — old novels, Cultural Revolution publications, calligraphy books, maps, and periodicals — but is worth visiting for the atmosphere and the opportunity to see what Shanghainese readers browse on a Sunday morning. The temple itself is free to enter; the inner halls charge a small admission.