A ritual is staged at the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. LIU JIANHUA/FOR CHINA DAILY

"China's ancient dynasties paid homage to Confucius to maintain social harmony," says Zhou Hongyu, a professor at the Central China Normal University in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

"Many literary greats are also worshipped in Confucian temples to widen the understanding of Confucianism. These temples are the pantheons of Chinese culture."

Confucian scholars played a pivotal role in China's education system in ancient times and helped spread Confucianism to Vietnam, Japan and the Korean Peninsula, among other places.

Zhou says further comparative study between China's Confucian sites and their counterparts abroad is also necessary.

While the new report praises the progress made in recent years to increase public awareness on Confucius' philosophy and preserving traditional culture, more needs to be done to restore the sites.

"The Confucian temples in different places have developed diverse characteristics," says Chen Wei, a professor from Southeast University in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province.

She adds that the lack of in-depth research has led to many such structures looking similar after renovation.