Shandong province, the birthplace of Confucius and Confucianism, has made much progress in involving people of different ages and government departments at all levels to inherit and maintain traditional Chinese culture.

Every Wednesday, students of the Zou Ping Fan Gong Primary School in Zouping county read together the 'Yueyang Tower', the essay written by Fan Zhongyan, one of the greatest Confucian scholars in ancient China, who lived during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

"Fan praises the noble characters of constant study and grand ambition, which we hope can lead our students to harvest the fruits of their labors", said Li Hong, the headmaster of the primary school.

Currently, Shandong has a total of 69 above county-level libraries which establish their own respective Nishan Academy, an organization founded in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and dedicated to Confucius and his thoughts. Some 2,800 villages across the province hold about 11,000 lectures spreading Confucian culture to 550,000 residents.

Some traditional Chinese culture fans join voluntary organizations to engage in promoting traditional Chinese culture elements that are used in various artistic forms such as film production and band performance. Such activities are all part of continuous efforts by Shandong to protect traditional Chinese culture.

Former residence of Fan Zhongyan. [Photo/ sdwht.gov.cn]

A park built in Qufu city, Shandong province, in 2002 to replicate the folk houses of the past civilizations dating back 2,500 years ago. [Photo/ sdwht.gov.cn]