A grand ceremony to mark Confucius’ 2,572nd birthday and show respect to the great ancient philosopher was held on Tuesday morning in his hometown Qufu, East China’s Shandong Province. Hundreds of attendees took part in the ceremony at the Temple of Confucius, including local senior officials, envoys, scholars and Confucius’ relatives. The ceremony also featured performances using ancient etiquette. Similar ceremonies are also being held around China and in South Korea.(Photos: Shan Jie & Pang Yue/GT)