The First Global Confucius Institute Shandong Culture and Tourism Promotion Program opened on Aug 14 in Qufu of Shandong province, the hometown of Confucius.

Jointly organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and the Shandong Tourism Development Commission, the event gathered nearly 300 distinguished guests, including government officials, directors of Confucius Institutes from home and abroad, sinologists and Shandong's overseas tourism channel partners.

Hanban and the Shandong Tourism Development Commission announced their strategic cooperation at the opening ceremony. The two sides will join hands to promote international exchanges and cooperation in Shandong's culture and tourism sector, and facilitate the "Friendly Shandong" tag overseas.

"Friendly Shandong" is one of the most-recalled tourist brands in China and was invested in heavily by Shandong province, which promotes itself as the ideal domestic and international holiday destination.

To further Shandong culture and tourism promotion, the first 44 directors of overseas Confucius Institutes were honored as "Confucius Ambassadors", and the first 30 Confucius Institutes have been selected as "Shandong promotion post houses".

With the online and offline media resources of the Confucius Institutes, "Friendly Shandong" will be an internationally recognized brand and attract more foreign visitors to appreciate the unlimited charm of the province.

Yan Xiangjun, an official from the Shandong Tourism Development Commission, said that travel brochures and posters about Shandong will be displayed and distributed at the Confucius Institutes around the world.

"More foreign students will get to know Shandong while they learn Chinese language and culture at the Confucius Institute. We hope that more foreign students will travel to China, especially to Shandong, the homeland of Confucius, the venerable Chinese philosopher," said Yan.

A series of activities also took place during the event, including tourism promotions, an exhibition highlighting intangible cultural heritage items and tourism commodities and meetings for overseas tourism cooperation channel partners.

As a public institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education, Hanban is committed to providing Chinese language and cultural teaching resources and services worldwide. It has established 529 Confucius Institutes and more than 1,100 Confucius classrooms in over 140 countries and regions.

According to the Shandong Tourism Development Commission, the province welcomed 370 million tourists from home and abroad in the first half of the year, a year-on-year growth of 9.2 percent. Thanks to cooperation with 68 travel agencies from 15 countries and regions, Shandong attracted 2.33 million overseas tourists over the first half of 2018, up 5.48 percent over that period last year.

The First Global Confucius Institute Shandong Culture and Tourism Promotion Program opens on Aug 14 in Qufu, Shandong province. [Photo/dzwww.com]

Unique tourism commodities with Shandong elements are displayed at the First Global Confucius Institute Shandong Culture and Tourism Promotion Program. [Photo/dzwww.com]

Shandong's intangible cultural heritage items are displayed at the First Global Confucius Institute Shandong Culture and Tourism Promotion Program, attracting many visitors. [Photo/dzwww.com]