The opening ceremony for the 2021 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the 7th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations was held in Qufu, Jining, East China's Shandong province, on Sept 27.

A total of 172 scholars and experts from 16 countries like the United States, Germany, Hungary and Japan attended the ceremony online and offline. Officials from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as 38 foreign envoys in China were also present.

With a theme of "Dialogue among civilizations and global cooperation", the 7th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations featured a number of activities, including a high-level dialogue, keynote speeches, youth forums, as well as interviews with ministers and diplomats. It also launched the Nishan Forum on Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as the 2021 Confucius Culture Week for Chinese and Foreign Young Students for the first time.

The Nishan forum is aimed at promoting excellent traditional Chinese culture and other brilliant cultures across the world, as well as enhancing communications and mutual learning between different civilizations, said Xu Jialu, honorary president of the organizing committee of the forum, at the opening ceremony. He added that the forum has yielded fruitful results and generated massive impacts since its inauguration 11 years ago.