The Confucius cultural festival is set to commemorate the 2,571st birthday of Confucius, while the Nishan forum will focus on "Shining through the future with civilizations" and will consist of one high-end dialogue, two keynote speeches and sub-forums.

The forum is named after Nishan Mountain, where Confucius is believed to have been born.

More than 150 experts and scholars at home and abroad attended the opening ceremony both online and offline, where they shared their insights on the wisdom of ancient civilizations and explored ways to integrate diverse civilizations.

Liu Jiayi, Party secretary of Shandong province, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]

Experts and scholars at home and abroad deliver speeches. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]