In a country where almost half the male population smokes,
officials have taken the bold step of banning smoking at the temple, family
mansion and cemetery of Confucius, a world heritage site in China's Shandong Province.
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| Apricot Platform in the central courtyard of the Confucius Temple in Qufu (credit: Rolf Müller) |
Confucius' temple was built to commemorate him in 478 BCE,
and has been rebuilt several times over the centuries. Meanwhile, his cemetery
contains the remains of as many as 100,000 of his descendants.
The world heritage site attracts approximately four million
visitors each year, and there is no word yet on visitors' reaction to the ban,
which was reportedly put in place for fire prevention reasons. In doing so,
local officials have got a leg up on the national government, which has yet enact
legislation governing smoking in public places.
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