QINGDAO, China, Dec. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The government of Shandong province recently held its annual general meeting, at which the Information Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province gave a presentation on the major projects of the last five years that succeeded in best promoting traditional Chinese culture. The projects covered five essential areas:

Strengthening the study of the best examples of traditional culture

The "Introducing Masters Project" was implemented, during which Confucian scholars and experts who were trained at the best schools in China and abroad were engaged to serve as Taishan scholars of Confucianism in Shandong province. The province assembled a collection of stories exemplifying what was most representative of traditional Chinese culture, including selecting 700 stories and publishing two series of storybooks. The effort also included the establishment of 1,630 beilei art workshops. More than 15,000 events have been held every year to tell the stories behind the traditions and popularize the art forms, benefiting more than three million students.

Facilitating the integration of culture and tourism

The province is committed to facilitating the integration of culture and tourism, as telling the story about the culture is very much at the soul of tourism while tourism serves as the carrier of culture. By uncovering and integrating the many different cultures and traditions, including Confucian, Qi, Taishan, Yellow River, spring, sea, canal, Water Margin, Jiaodong Red and other folk cultures, the province has established 10 cultural tourism destinations, key among them:

• the home of Confucius in Qufu, a.k.a. the Sacred Land of Confucius,
• the sea resorts of Yantai -- the Fairyland Coast,
• Tai'an -- Blessing Mount Tai,
• Jinan -- the City of Springs,
• Linzi -- the ancient capital of Qi Kingdom,
• Jining, Liaocheng & Zaozhuang -- the Shandong Section of the Grand Canal,
• Liaocheng -- Bastion of the "Water Margin" Heroes,
• Dongying and other riparian cities along the estuary of the Yellow River,
• Linyi in the Yimeng Mountains, and
• Weifang -- the City of Kites.

The fifth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo was recently held, attracting 820,000 visitors and 60 million online viewers. By hosting the International Confucius Culture Festival, the Taishan International Mountain Festival, the Qingdao International Beer Festival, the Heze International Peony Festival and the Weifang International Kite Festival, the province has become identified with the hosting of China's most well-known tourism events.

Promoting the "Library + Academy" model

Since 2014, Shandong province has been advocating the "Library + Academy" public cultural service model, in order to facilitate the development of both rural and community Confucianism. The Nishan Academy was established to expand on the meaning of a public library, and Confucianism classes were set up at comprehensive township cultural stations, rural cultural compounds and community cultural centers to educate the general population on traditional culture and make them more aware of the aspects of traditional culture that are the most representative. In total, 1,604 urban community Confucianism classes have been set up, hosting 10,500 events with 860,000 participants, while 22,000 rural Confucianism classes were opened in 17 cities, with 2.67 million participants.

Enhancing the heritage of Qufu's traditional culture

The province has been building facilities to better showcase Qufu's traditional culture, as well as establishing an international center for Confucianism research and innovation and creating a platform for global cultural exchanges. An experience center at the headquarters of the Confucius Institute and the Nishan Sacred Landscape, among other facilities, have been established.

Making sure Confucian culture takes its rightful place on the world stage

The Fifth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations was held in Nishan, Qufu, Shandong province in September 2018, attracting 600 experts and scholars from 27 countries and regions who gave or engaged in 27 academic speeches and dialogues. A series of events celebrating Chinese Spring Festival were held in 18 cities across 13 countries including Cuba, Laos, New Zealand, Sweden and Thailand. Through the partnership with the China Cultural Centre in New Zealand, an intangible culture group comprised of the three inheritors of paper-cut, kite and woodcut New Year's pictures each hosted an exhibition of the ancient crafts in the country's two largest cities, Auckland and Wellington.

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