Forum on civilizations comes to home of Confucius

A news conference on Monday afternoon in Nishan, Qufu, Shandong province, highlighted the 10th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations which will open on Wednesday. [Photo provided to Chinadaily.com.cn]

The 10th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations is set to kick off on Wednesday in Nishan, Qufu, Shandong province — known as the birthplace of Confucius.

The two-day forum — themed "Traditional Culture and Modern Civilization" — will cover topics such as civilizational exchanges and mutual learning amid global challenges, Chinese-style and Western modernization, civilization inheritance, innovation in the process of modernization and the effects of artificial intelligence and humanity.

For the first time, there will be a forum on sports, and one on family culture.

Nishan, located 30 kilometers southeast of the county-level city of Qufu in Jining, is a must-visit tourist destination that combines the charm of China's traditional culture with the world cultural heritage sites of the Temple of Confucius, the Mansion of Confucius and the Cemetery of Confucius, all of which are located in Qufu.

Since its inception in 2010, the Nishan forum has been held nine times. The event features dialogue between different civilizations around the world. It has become an increasingly important platform for strengthening the preservation and development of Chinese traditional culture, for advocating common human values and for promoting international cultural exchanges and cooperation.

This year's forum will host nearly 400 international guests from 63 countries — the largest number of countries and guests.

It will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the International Confucian Association and the Shandong Provincial People's Government.