The Party working committee and the administrative committee of the Qufu cultural development demonstration zone were both inaugurated in December 2015, and the zone was included in the national 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) and the Memory of China project on March 17, 2016.

The CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and the Shandong Provincial Government followed the models of two national strategies - the Yellow River Delta High Efficiency Ecological Economic Zone and the Marine Economic Zone of the Shandong Peninsula - and started compiling guidelines for the construction of the demonstration zone in March 2016. They aim to develop the zone into a national role model for morality, a pilot area for the Memory of China project, a national demonstration zone for integrated cultural and economic development, a leading international Confucianism research and innovation center, and a hub for global exchange. They intend to improve its core and coordinated areas and develop its linkage area. They have also made overall plans for the spatial layout of its core area, which will consist of one axis, one belt, and nine different areas, and plan to focus on developing cultural tourism, education training, healthcare, creative culture, and convention and festival celebrations.

The Qufu cultural development demonstration zone is expected to consist of a core area, a coordinated area, and a linkage area. The core area, covering an area of 3,631 square kilometers, includes the two county-level cities of Qufu and Zoucheng and Sishui county. The coordinated area includes regions that share historical and cultural resources and are located within 100 kilometers of the core area. The linkage area includes clusters with similar cultural resources outside the zone but within the province.

Planning years: 2016-2030, particularly the 13th Five-Year Plan period

Status: a national role model for morality, a pilot area for the Memory of China project, a national demonstration zone for integrated cultural and economic development, a leading international Confucianism research and innovation center, and a hub for world civilization exchange

Overall idea: improving the core and coordinated areas and developing the linkage area.

Spatial layout of the core area: one axis, one belt, and nine areas

Five industries: cultural tourism, education training, healthcare, creative culture, and convention and festival celebrations

The Confucius Museum [Photo by Feng Lei]