The course completion ceremony of the Shandong class of the 2023 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists was held at Shandong Normal University on Nov 29.

Twenty-five young sinologists from 24 countries took part in the program, which offers a platform for young sinologists around the world to share their teaching and research achievements.

Course completion certificates are issued to all participants during the ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

During the three-week program, the participants visited several cultural tourism destinations, including Mount Tai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Yellow River, the cradle of Chinese civilization, as well as famous cities in Shandong province such as Qufu, where Confucius was born, and Jinan, the province's capital city.

A participant from Bangladesh said that she managed to learn a great deal about Confucian culture and traditional Chinese culture through the activities related to Chinese calligraphy, painting, traditional Chinese costumes, and Song Dynasty (960-1279) poetry.

A participant from Morocco said that he hopes to engage in more academic exchanges with his Chinese peers in the future. "This experience has encouraged me to continue promoting cultural exchanges between Chinese and other civilizations," he said.

The 21-day program included nine specialized lectures on topics such as Chinese traditional culture, the modern world and China, intercultural communication, and international Chinese education. A total of six conferences on paper-writing, four cultural activities, and eight trips were held during the program.