I and a friend stayed at the Kong Famly Mansion in 1990, when it was a reasonably-priced hotel for foreigners. We were two American women, surrounded by Japanese men visiting then for the Confucius Ceremony. We were travelling independently, using the LET'S GO series book, and it told us to go there. We needed no special permission. I remember distinctly how yellow the water was in the bathtub when it came out, and we decided against having a bath. The foot-high room dividers were a major problem because we also climbed up Mount Tai, slept overnight there, then hiked back down the trails on its opposite, well, back side. We could barely move our legs at all!!! The Japanese just laughed at our stiff, awkward attempts to get over these dividers. I still wonder what the point of such divisions between the rooms was.

We were lucky to find a busload of Canadian seniors, to join them for two days of meals and sightseeing, and also to attend the Confucian festival with them. We saw the ancient dancing, and we visited a carpet-making village (girls and women in dim, dusty rooms weaving by hand...)

Qufu was packed with visitors. Mount Tai was quiet in terms of foreigners... we were the only ones climbing up.

I am happy that we did it then, when I see that it is now a museum. No mention of what happened to the Kong family? Murdered by the Communists? Fled? Flied?