Jiading Confucius Temple (Shanghai, China)

Not far from Nanxiang Town is the Jiading Confucius Temple. I was not able to visit it during the day, but I was happy I was able to capture this beautiful gate at night.

The night in question, I was with a friend of mine who is a great photographer. He did not get out his own camera, but he helped me light-paint this scene. The image you see here is the result of combining an HDR light-painted scene with three manual photos taken with different exposures.

Jiading is known as a “state of education” and the Confucius Temple stands as the source. With a strong background in culture and education, it is also known as the birthplace of talents and men of letters.

The Temple was constructed during the Southern Song Dynasty (1219) and has been massively renovated during the last 800 years. As a result, it has been quite well preserved. Today, the temple also holds the newly opened Shanghai Museum of the Chinese Imperial Examination System.