The philosopher
Mencius was born in Zoucheng, then within the feudal
State of Zou. His descendants lived in Zoucheng all the way to the present. Some of them migrated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War and to Korea during the Tang Dynasty. In the present day, there are four major sites in the city relating to Mencius: the Mencius Temple (), the Mencius Family Mansion (), the Mencius Forest (, ), and Mencius' Mother's Forest (, ). The Mencius Temple, which covers an area of more than on the south side of town, has five courtyards and sixty-four halls and rooms. Its history dates back to the year 1037 in the
Northern Song dynasty. The Mencius Mansion, where his descendants lived, is adjacent to the temple, and has 116 halls and rooms. According to the management of the Mencius Temple, the temple grounds house over 270 stone
steles and sculptures, some of which dating from as early as the
Song dynasty. Among them are some
Yuan dynasty stelae with inscriptions in
'Phags-pa script. Immediately to the north of Zoucheng lies the tomb of the King of Lu of the
Ming dynasty (). It is the tomb of Zhu Tan (1370-1389), the tenth son of the
Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty. There is also a royal tomb from the
Han dynasty (). ==Climate==