If you didn’t know, I am the mayor of the Confucius Temple in Beijing, China 北京孔庙. Its the second largest Confucian Temple in China after the one in Confucius’ hometown of Qufu. I must say, it is a lot of work governing a temple built in 1302. Lots of paperwork, middle-management types and inter-office politics exist in ancient deity too.

I’m also the mayor of Beijing’s Bell Tower, originally built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan. Does that make me more powerful than Kubla Khan? You can decide. But in the meantime, Foursquare tells us who is in charge.

If your unfamiliar with Foursquare — its a rapidly growing geo-based, social media network with economic incentives for both users and businesses. Read more about them here. Users can “check in to” locations – a business, a subway stop a 900-year-old ancient Chinese tower. Anything. If you want to become mayor of a place, all you have to do is:

What is “The Mayor” all about?
If you’ve been to a place more than anyone else we’ll crown you the “The Mayor” of that place. We see lots of bars and cafes now offering “Mayor Specials” – a free coffee or appetizer or maybe a special discount to the mayors of their venues. Watch out though – if someone else comes along who has checked in more days than you, they will steal the “Mayor” title back from you.

Earlier today I saw @newmediajim check into the White House, which made me ask the question, if Obama is the President of the White House – who is the Mayor of the White House? Furthermore, who is the mayor of the Sphinx or the Eiffel Tower. With over 1 million users and 40 million check-ins, as of Monday, May 10, 2010 here is my list of the top 10 coolest mayors in the world :

• 1) The White House: Aya m
• 2) The Great Sphinx of Giza: Eohyung l.
• 3) The Eiffel Tower: Nicolas M.
• 4) The Acropolis: Kakos Lykos
• 5) Tian’anmen Square: Trevor H.
• 6) Machu Picchu: Leon V.
• 7) The Taj Mahal: Jeff Clinton
• 8 ) Stonehenge: Mister R.
• 9) Yosemite National Park: Carrie H.
• 10) Angkor Wat: eohyung l. 용인시, 경기도 (Yes, apparently the guy who is the mayor of the Sphinx in Egypt is also the mayor of Angkor Wat in Cambodia – he’s also the mayor the men’s bathroom on the first floor of the White House)

Although there is no mayor yet, people have checked-in all around the world: at Easter Island, the Galapagos Island, the Great Barrier Reef to Chichen Itza or Uluru. Mashable says today:

Location-based social network Foursquare counted its 40 millionth checkin a “couple days ago,” according to a tweet from one of its developers.

The number shows that Foursquare’s growth rate is accelerating: Five weeks ago, the company announced that the total number of checkins had reached 22 million. In short: Foursquare appears to have doubled its checkin rate in just over a month.

So as it grows, so will the competition of mayorship. I’ll be happy if I can hold on two 1 of my 2 ancient temples. Given the choice, what would you be mayor of?

While you think about that question, here are some more photos from in and around the temple that I govern.