The Confucius' Hometown, Beautiful Shandong exhibition opened on July 8 in Ankara, capital of Turkey, displaying Shandong province's unique cultural charm and picturesque natural scenery through painting and photography works.

The five-day exhibition is one of a series of activities held by the Chinese Embassy in Turkey to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Deng Li, Chinese ambassador to Turkey, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. He detailed Shandong province's development achievements, long history, and profound cultural reserves.

He noted that Shandong is the hometown of Confucius and an important cradle of Chinese civilization. The outstanding traditional Chinese culture, mainly based on Confucianism, is the "spiritual wealth" that China has contributed to the world. China's diplomatic philosophy of pursuing peaceful development and building a community of shared future for mankind draws on the essence of the fine traditional Chinese culture.

Deng said that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. China has joined hands with other countries to build the dream of development through promoting the Belt and Road Initiative.

He added that as China-Turkey cooperation continues to deepen under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, the people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries will become even closer, pushing bilateral cooperation to a new height and breadth.

The exhibition offers local visitors an insight into the natural landscape and cultural atmosphere of Mount Tai, the Yimeng Mountain, the Yellow River, the Grand Canal, three Confucius sites, the Great Wall of Qi, the Yimeng Mountain, and other locations in Shandong province.

Visitors can also participate in activities such as writing Chinese calligraphy, as well as interacting with photographers and calligraphers to better understand Chinese and Shandong culture.

Deng Li, Chinese ambassador to Turkey, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Confucius' Hometown, Beautiful Shandong exhibition on July 8 in Ankara, capital of Turkey. [Photo/chinaculture.org]

Visitors take a close look at the introduction of the exhibition. [Photo/chinaculture.org]

Visitors to the exhibition pose for a group photo with a big image of the Chinese character "fu", which means luck, blessings, happiness, and good fortune. [Photo/chinaculture.org]

A visitor learns to write calligraphy under the instruction of a Chinese teacher at the exhibition. [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]