Confucius temple and Museum of Nationalities

My friend Ji Sheng had organized a tour this weekend to the newly opened Confucius temple and the nearby Guangxi Museum of Nationalities. He had chartered a cousin with a luxurious van and had also invited some of my classmates to form a tour group of 7 people, traveling in comfort.
Due to traffic it still took us almost an hour to get to the temple, located at the foot of Qingxiu Shan mountain, on the northern bank of the Pearl river.

The temple was opened just after Chinese New Year, during the Spring Festival, so everything was brand new, the parking lot still unfinished. Constructed in concrete and Indonesian hardwood, the temple looks similar to many other temples all over China, painted dark red, and decorated with lots of flags and banners.
The large statue of a seated Confucius in the main hall is surrounded by 4 smaller statues of contemporaries, and a lot of bronze objects, including ceremonial bells and musical instruments. The last hall is a few years older, and contains a illustrated history of the life of the master, drawn up in a series of framed artworks and paper scrolls.
A bit further down the road is the Museum of Nationalities, showcasing the ethnic minorities of Guangxi province. Guangxi's official name is Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and 1/3 of its population are of the Zhuang ethnic group, the largest of China's 55 ethnic minorities. In the whole of China, the Zhuang people only amount to 1.2 % of the population, 92 % is Han Chinese.

The museum is also brand new, and it's main building is a large glass and stainless steel structure in the shape of a typical Zhuang bronze drum.
The museum has a large collection of these drums on display, the oldest dating back to the 5th century B.C., and the latest from the end of the 19th century, spanning almost 2500 years of use, and virtually unchanged design. The sizes range from about 40 cm to 150 cm diameter. This type of bronze drums have been found all over China, South-East Asia and Indonesia.
The museum focuses on the ethnic variety of Guangxi and highlights the life of the different minorities, their costumes, festivals, typical architecture, etc.
Behind the museum is a large area which acts as an open-air museum, with 1:1 replicas of typical houses of the various ethnic groups, as well as special buildings like a Dong style covered bridge.
Both the Confucius temple and the museum offer free entrance.