Dressed in traditional costumes, performers staged an ancient Confucian coming-of-age ritual for girls on Nov 21 at the Temple and Family Mansion of Mencius in Zoucheng, a county-level city of Jining, Shandong province.

Zoucheng is widely regarded as the hometown of Mencius, a fourth-century BC Chinese thinker whose importance in the Confucian tradition is second only to that of Confucius himself.

Performers dressed in Han traditional dress at the ancient Chinese coming-of-age ceremony for girls at the Temple and Family Mansion of Mencius in Zoucheng, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Performers stage the traditional hair-pinning ritual, a solemn and elegant ceremony that symbolizes the girls entering adulthood. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]