Fuzi Miao was first built in the Song dynasty in AD 1034. It was constructed for the express purpose of worshiping the great sage Confucius but in reality it was a testing centre and academy for the imperial examinations designed to select new civil servants. It was a testing centre for the whole region of Jiangsu. The complex was expanded in the East Jin Dynasty, but it has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, the last of which was in 1937 when it was razed to the ground by invading Japanese forces. It was finally reconstructed in the mid 80s and 90s. A stone bridge and a square tower are all that remain of this huge establishment. Inside the tower are stele inscribed with the rules of conduct for the examinations and the history of the hall itself.

Today Fuzimiao has become Nanjing's main amusement quarter and is a particularly lively and crowded place on weekends and public holidays by the Qinhai River in Nanjing.