"Two lovely pandas also met with the Qatari people recently, which added a festive and peaceful Chinese element to the success of the World Cup," Zhou says.

After the event, a friendly soccer match between Chinese and Qatari youths was held.

The event is part of a series of international exchange promotion activities, dubbed Cultural Journey to the Origin of Football.

Another important event of this cultural journey is the exhibition about cuju at the FIFA Fan Festival, which is taking place from Nov 20 to Dec 18 in Al Bidda Park, Doha.

In the cuju exhibition booth, several areas, including a cuju door display, graphics, videos and live interaction, are set to present the historical and modern interpretations of the ancient Chinese game.

In addition, on Thursday, Zibo held a cuju performance and an exhibition at Linzi Football Museum, along with the screening of a promotional film named Cultural Journey to the Origin of Football.