The 2020 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the sixth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations kicked off on Sept 27 in Qufu, Shandong province, the birthplace of the great philosopher Confucius.

Starting this year, the two events will be held together in order to expand their influence, according to the organizers.

The 2020 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the sixth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations open on Sept 27 in Qufu, Shandong province. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]

The two-day events are being jointly held by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, International Confucian Federation and the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

A promo video for this year's Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. [Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

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]