"Some 2,500 years ago,when some of the most famous and influential philosophers of all time such as Socrates and Aristotle were active in the ancient Greek world,Confucius(551-479 B.C.)was born on Nishan Mountain,30 kilometers southeast of today's city center of Qufu,Shandong Province.Thereafter,Nishan is closely associated with Confucius,a thinker and educator who deeply influenced mankind,and is considered a holy place of Confucianism,"declared Liu Jiayi,secretary of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the CPC and director of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People's Congress,to welcome more than 500 experts and scholars from 25 countries and regions at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Qufu International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Fifth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations on September 26.The participants gathered to discuss how Chinese civilization would contribute to the building of a community of shared future for mankind.