Young entrepreneurs and talent attending the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Dialogue and Shandong Tour for Global Young Talent (Zibo) – held in Zibo city in East China's Shandong province – visited fascinating cultural venues in the metropolis on Aug 14 and explored the ancient and rich local Qi culture.
The visitors get together to swap notes on Aug 14. [WeChat ID: zibofabu2014]
In particular, the impressive Qi Heritage Museum attracted the attention of the guests. As a national first-class museum, it has a collection of more than 30,000 cultural relics. One of the expats – Jennifer, an American woman – uploaded photos of it onto her social media platform.
Young entrepreneurs learn about the culture and history of the ancient Qi state in the Qi Heritage Museum. [WeChat ID: zibofabu2014]
A museum member of staff explained the history of the ancient state of Qi, as well as the advanced ideas for economic openness and cultural inclusiveness in the Qi culture. The expats were struck by the wisdom and innovation of the ancient Chinese people.
While visiting the museum, a silver bean unearthed from a king's tomb dating back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD24) fascinated a woman from Pakistan, whose Chinese name is Ming Zhu. She is currently with the Tsinghua University's Belt and Road Strategy Institute. Realizing that the cultural relic had witnessed the famed Chinese ancient Silk Road, she was even more curious about the Qi culture.
Expats check out the finer points of cuju, an ancient sport from Zibo. [WeChat ID: zibofabu2014]
Moving on, the group keenly watched a game of cuju, a sport played in ancient China that resembles modern football.
To echo the theme of the activity, Qi Heritage Museum curator Ma Guoqing gave a talk on the Jixia Academy – a state institution for higher learning with multiple roles, such as a research institute, university and think tank – that focuses on the Qi culture. Emerging over a similar period with Plato's Academy in Athens, the two institutions for higher learning created a glorious time in the history of the world's civilization.
Afterwards, the visitors shared their experiences and feelings about the trip to Shandong.
