A group of 20 reporters from the world's major media organizations paid a visit to Qufu, the hometown of Confucius in Shandong province on Oct 18 to experience the profoundness and charm of Chinese traditional culture. 

The reporters, jointly invited by the Jining municipal government and China Daily, were participating in a four-day fact-finding tour of Jining, exploring the city's achievements in protecting traditional culture, replacing old growth drivers with new ones and rural revitalization over 40 years of reform and opening up.

The reporters started their trip in Qufu by watching the performance of ancient gate opening ceremony at Minggucheng, namely Ancient City in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The venue is part of the World heritage of Confucian sites in Qufu -- the Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion. 

Then the reporters visited the three Confucius sites and attended the lecture delivered by Yang Chaoming, dean of the Chinese Confucius Research Institute.

DAO Khoa Thu, a reporter from the Viet Nam News said that this was her first time to visit China and she was overwhelmed by the profound Chinese culture.

"Though there are Confucius Temples in Vietnam, none of them have such magnitude and cultural relics as the Confucius Temple in Qufu. The temple also joins along the Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion, making it a perfect site to learn more about Confucius." 

She added that she will recommend Qufu to her friends after returning to Vietnam as "it is the perfect city to learn about Confucianism."

In the afternoon, the reporters visited the Nishan Holy Land in the Nishan Cultural Tourism Resort, which is located in Nishan Mountain, traditionally regarded as the birthplace of Confucius, the great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism. 

The Nishan Holy land is 25 kilometers southeast of Qufu, covering an area of 35.76 square kilometers. Currently under construction, the complex was mentioned as part of Qufu's excellent traditional culture inheritance and development demonstration zone in China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). In the future, it will become a cultural experience base to learn about Chinese culture and Confucianism.

The reporters attended a series of cultural experience activities at the scenic spot, such as worshiping Confucius and transcribing Confucian classics.

"I am honored to visit Nishan Holy Land, the birthplace of the great saint Confucius. The culture experience activities are very impressive," said Shreejana, a reporter from BBC.

"The culture advocated by Confucius thousands of years ago in China still applies to whole world today," said Zafar Hussain, a reporter from Pakistan's Daily Jang.

"His ideas of inner-peace, kindness, common world, and justice opened my eyes." 

Confucianism has had a profound effect on Chinese civilization and constitutes an important part of traditional Chinese culture. That entire heritage has left Qufu as something of a museum of cultural relics. There are 819 cultural relic sites and 209 key cultural relics scattered throughout the city. 

With its long history, Qufu also boasts many modern cultural facilities such as the excellent traditional culture inheritance and development demonstration zone, and the Confucius Institute's headquarters. Every year, the city holds a series of major activities including the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations, the Qufu International Confucius Culture Festival and the World Confucian Conference.

Foreign reporters use their cellphones and cameras to record the show of the traditional city gate opening rite at Minggucheng, in Qufu, Shandong province, Oct 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A foreign reporter looks at the blessing cards at the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong province, Oct 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The reporters attend a lecture delivered by Yang Chaoming, dean of the Chinese Confucius Research Institute in Qufu, Shandong province, Oct 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]