On November 1, the Cross-Strait (Dezhou) Bajiquan(Baji Baoxing)Skills Exchange Conference and the First Bajiquan Spear Competition, along with the Cross-Strait (Dezhou) Dayu Cultural Exchange Conference and the StudyTourby studentsfromNishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture kicked off in Qingyun County, Dezhou City, Shandong Province.

Guo Chengyan, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of Nishan World Center for Confucian Studies (Secretariat of China Confucius Foundation), Deputy Chairman and Secretary-General of China Confucius Foundation, and Deputy Chairman of the International Confucian Association, attended the opening ceremony.Liu Hao, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director, attended and delivered a speech.

At the opening ceremony, Guo Chengyan presented the Outstanding Contribution Award for Cross-Strait Bajiquantorecipients. The attending leaders also presented the Heritage Contribution Award and theChampionCoach Award for Bajiquanmasterson both sidesof theTaiwanStrait,andunveiled the plaque forCross-Strait Spear Training Baseof TaiwanSpear Alliance.

In recent years, Nishan World Center for Confucian Studies and China Confucius Foundation have been committed to inheriting and developing Chineseexcellent traditional culture, promoting cross-strait cultural exchanges, and innovatively organizing events such as the Cross-Strait Confucius Culture Spring Festival and the Cross-Strait AnalectsReading and Writing Relay Conference. They have also established three Confucius Institutes in Taiwan, building a multi-dimensional platform for cross-strait cultural exchanges.

Dezhou was an important place for the ancient sage king Yu the Great to control floods and the second hometown of Dong Zhongshu, a great Confucian scholar of the Han Dynasty, for his studies and academic pursuits. In 2025, Dezhou Research Base of Nishan Joint Graduate Schoolfor FineTraditional ChineseCulturewas officially inaugurated. So far 24 postgraduate students from the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Shandong University and other partnerinstitutions conduct a five-day special study focusing on the culture of Yu the Great and Dong Zhongshu. During this period, on-site teaching and observation activities will be carried out at important historical and cultural sites and venues such as Jinshan Cultural Park, Laoling Confucian Temple, Yuwang Pavilion Museum, China Agricultural Culture Museum, Dezhou Museum, Traditional Chinese Family Learning Culture Park, Sulu Imperial Mausoleum, Liangzi Black Pottery Museum, Dongzi Reading Platform, Dezhou Confucian Culture Exhibition Hall, and Dongzi Academy, along with interactive exchange seminars.

It is reported that Dezhou has hosted eight consecutive Cross-Strait Bajiquan Skills Exchange Conferences. This conference attracted over 500 guests from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as practitioners and enthusiasts of Bajiquan, who participated in the exchange and showcased on stage. Seven performancesincluding Bajiquan demonstrations, spear exhibitions, and the "Yu Ode" were presented live. The event will also host Bajiquan skill exchanges and the inaugural spear competition, along with the Cross-Strait Yu the Great Cultural Exchange Conference and the specialized of Nishan Joint Graduate Schoolfor FineTraditional ChineseCulture.