The Temple of Southern Confucianism in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, is scheduled to reopen on March 30. [Photo/qz123.com]

The Temple of Southern Confucianism in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, is scheduled to reopen on March 30, local media reported.

However, only well-ventilated exhibition halls are available to visitors right now. Other places, including the spatio-temporal tunnel and Confucian classics classes, remain closed, and their hours will be announced at a later date.

The number of visitors to the temple is limited to 200 per day, with 100 visitors per half-day, and they are required to keep a distance of 100 meters from each other.

Visitors are allowed to visit the scenic spot from 9 am to 5 pm and they are not allowed to enter the temple after 4:30 pm.

Visitors are also required to hold a green QR code, meaning they have little chance of being infected with novel coronavirus, wear a mask, have their temperature taken, and register their name, ID number, and telephone number.

Visitors whose temperatures are higher than 37.2 degrees centigrade are prohibited from entering the temple, and will be encouraged to seek medical treatment at the nearest designated hospital.

Quzhou is the home of Confucius's descendants. The city's Temple of Southern Confucianism is one of the only two Confucian temples in China and a key cultural heritage site under national protection.

Construction of the temple was financed by Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) after receiving an appeal from the local prefecture chief; since then, it has been rebuilt three times and repaired 10 times.

In 1998, the Quzhou municipal government invested 18 million yuan ($2.55 million) to repair the temple, and in 2004, the city resumed the sacrificial ceremony marking the birthday of Confucius, which had not been held in the city for more than 50 years. Since 2009, directors of Confucius Institutes abroad have been invited to attend the ceremony.