A memorial ceremony gets underway in Jinan's Fuxue Wenmiao to commemorate the 2,573rd birthday of Confucius (551-479 BC), a great Chinese educator and thinker, on Sept 28.  Fuxue Wenmiao is popularly known as the Confucian Temple of Shandong province. [Photo/VCG]

Representatives from all walks of life in Jinan recite Confucian classics to honor the ancient sage Confucius. [Photo/VCG]

A view of the memorial ceremony at Fuxue Wenmiao on Sept 28. The Confucius thoughts are not only an extremely important cultural heritage in China, but also an indispensable spiritual treasure for all mankind. [Photo/VCG]