Typology: Traditional town center Scale: 1.67sqkm (Ming town) Contracting authority: Qufu authorities Main Stakeholders: Tongji University, EU Project Asia Urbs with local and international experts Year: 1961-today
Qufu is the hometown of philosopher and thinker Confucius (551 B.C. to 479 B.C.). In 1994, three historical relics linked to Confucius were registered in the Unesco World Heritage list. In 2005, the European program Asia Urbs, with the help of Tongji University, managed to set up a protection plan in order to save the old Ming town (surrounding two of the relics) from destruction. The program included public awareness of heritage, training of local urban planners, urban heritage inventory, reconstruction and management programs, etc.