Shandong province, with its profound cultural resources, is striving to build a prosperous, civilized and harmonious moral and cultural highland.

Nishan Mountain, a hill which is only 340 meters above sea level, neither has the majestic and heavy nature of Mount Tai, nor the clouds and seas of Laoshan Mountain. However, Confucius was born here 2,569 years ago, making it a holy place for ancient oriental civilization.

Its hallowed atmosphere has transformed into the power of rational wisdom and spreads around the world.

Visitors attend the Confucius worshipping ceremony at the Nishan Holy Land in Qufu, Shandong province. [Photo/iqilu.com]

The 5th Nishan Forum on World Civilization opened on Sept 26 this year. About 263 experts and scholars from 25 countries and regions participated in the global ideological and cultural event.

Nicholas Adams is a professor at the University of Birmingham. At the age of 58, he is an authoritative scholar in the field of western philosophy. But at the Nishan Forum, he exchanged with scholars from various countries as modestly as a student.

"We are now entering a new era. How can human beings live in harmony? The state leader of China has proposed to build a community with shared future. This is a great idea. It is a fusion of ancient Chinese wisdom and modern thoughts, and is worth studying," he said.

"I think China has a great tradition. That is Confucianism. The tradition affects the Chinese in various ways and now affects the world. Learning these cultures is very necessary for us to face the challenges of the 21st century," he added.

Nicholas Adams, a professor at the University of Birmingham, gives an interview to Shandong local media outlet. [Photo/iqilu.com]

Nishan Forum shows the world the role of Chinese culture in the dialogue of world civilization and the cultural responsibility of Shandong.

Shandong has actively implemented the project of developing and inheriting excellent Chinese traditional culture and promoting its creative transformation.

This year, the Shandong provincial government issued a construction plan for a demonstration area for the inheritance and development of Qufu's traditional culture.

It proposed that by 2020, the demonstration area should basically develop into a cultural highland that leads fashion, serves society and promotes the exchange of civilizations.

Li Xuebin, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Qufu Culture Construction Demonstration Zone, said that the first phase of the Nishan Holy Land project with a total investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) has been completed and put into operation. The main body of the Confucius Museum with an investment of 800 million yuan is completed, and the integration project of the Mencius Institute has been accelerated.

The Confucius Museum opens for trial operation in Qufu, East China's Shandong province, Nov 26, 2018. [Photo/iqilu.com]

Shandong has taken the lead in promoting the excellent traditional culture in the basic education stage, and has made solid progress in building a virtuous, civilized and honest Shandong.

This year, Shandong led in integrating excellent culture into the civilized practices of the new era.

At present, it has 95 county-level practice centers, 693 township-level sub-centers and 6,165 village-level training centers. The practice centers of civilization in the new era have become a grass-roots integrated platform with functions such as ideological guidance, moral education and cultural inheritance.

Villagers enjoy crosstalk (a Chinese comedy form) at a cultural practice station in Feixian county of Linyi, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/iqilu.com]

Shandong has a long history of civilization and struggled in the gunfire of the revolutionary war. Although the smoke is exhausted, the spirit of Yimeng people being in perfect harmony and sharing life and death has transformed into a valuable spiritual wealth.

Xie Dong, director of the Linyi Municipal Tourism Development Committee, said that red tourism (revolutionary-themed tourism) and red research activities let the spirit of Yimeng out of Linyi, out of Shandong and beyond to the whole country.

In order to speed up the development of red tourism and inherit the red cultural history, Shandong formulated the "Red Culture Research Tourism Implementation Plan" in May this year.

It integrates red tourism culture and resources in Linyi, Jinan and Zaozhuang. Local governments have developed "culture + tourism" and innovated a red tourism development model. Red tourism products such as Party education, red films and television and research experience have emerged.

On Nov 19, Sino-Russian red tourism cooperation and exchange activities were held in Linyi.

Alexander from Russia said: "I am belong to the generation who grew up with a red scarf. Coming to Linyi has evoked the red memories of my childhood, which is very beautiful. The exchange between tourism can help the two countries' people understand each other's culture and history."

The holding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Qingdao in June continued to expand the extension of Shandong's excellent culture.

Following the summit, the first SCO Film Festival was held at the Lingshan Bay Film and Television Cultural Industry Area. Eight member countries and four observer countries of SCO brought in 55 films, including the Afghan film Mina Walking, which won the best picture prize of the Golden Seagull Awards.

Mina Walking tells the story of Mina, a 12-year-old girl from Afghanistan. The war took away her mother's life and turned her father into a drunkard. But Mina did not give up and sneaked to class obsessively, hoping to have a different future. It is a common human desire for a better life. The open and inclusive Shandong provides a platform for the display of diverse civilizations.

The maker of Mina Walking said: "The greatness of a nation is not only the strength of economic power and the breadth of the land, but also the enthusiasm, equality and generosity of people. I feel all of this here."

The producer of Mina Walking gives acceptance speech at the at the closing ceremony of the SCO Film Festival on June 17 in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/iqilu.com]   

Shandong does not forget the original culture while absorbing foreign cultures. It constantly cultivates cultural soil and expands the cultural industry.

On April 28 this year, the Lingshan Bay Film and Television Culture Industry Area, with a total investment of 50 billion yuan, was fully completed. The Qingdao Oriental Film and Television Industrial Park covering an area of 166 hectares is its core.

Fu Zhiming, deputy general manager of Oriental Shadow Management Co Ltd said: "At present, we have 40 first-class studios, including those of 2000, 3000, 4000, 5,000, and 6000 square meters, and even the largest studio of 10,000 square meters." 

The area was designed with 52 high-tech studios, including the world's largest studio of 10,000 square meters and the world's only indoor and outdoor underwater studio, which allows filmmakers from all over the world to come with a script and leave with a film. 

Mike Ellis, the MPAA's Asia Pacific chief, said that it is a world-class film production base which provides a lot of job opportunities for Chinese and foreign film practitioners. It also gives China and foreign countries the opportunity to work together to make films. Qingdao has become a good choice.

Shandong has vigorously promoted the structural optimization, transformation and upgrading of the cultural industry and created a new highland for its development. 

In the past five years, the added value of Shandong's culture industry has increased by more than 15 percent annually. The Implementation Plan for Major Projects of New and Old Kinetic Energy Conversion in Shandong Province proposes that by 2022, the added value of the culture industry will reach 560 billion yuan, accounting for 5.6 percent of the regional GDP.