On the morning of September 6th, the 2025 Quzhou Confucianism Forum kicked off.

Quzhou is a key hub for the southern spread of Confucianism. Over the past 800 years, Southern Confucianism has embraced an open and inclusive stance, integrating the essence of regional cultures to form a distinctive academic context and practical tradition. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the implementation of Zhejiang Province’s "Eight Major Cultural Projects." Over the past two decades, adhering to General Secretary Xi Jinping’s earnest entrustment, Quzhou city has thoroughly explored the contemporary and modern significance of Southern Confucian culture (Nankong Culture), yielded a series of landmark achievements that highlight the depth of Zhejiang’s culture, and blazed a new path for the inheritance and development of Confucianism in southern China—making valuable explorations for the continuation and advancement of Confucian culture in the new era.

Standing at a new starting point, Quzhou will focus on the municipal-level practice of "the Second Combination" (the integration of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture), further research and explore the practical and modern implications of Nankong Culture, strengthen systematic and theoretical studies, accelerate the formulation of a development plan for the "Southeastern Confucianism Corridor," and continuously promote the in-depth integration of Confucian culture with urban development. These efforts aim to make greater contributions to deepening the "Eight Major Cultural Projects" and building a culturally strong province.

At the opening ceremony, achievements of Nankong Culture over the past 20 years were released; anunveiling ceremony for the Nankong Culture Research Institute and an appointment certificate issuance ceremony were also held. On the same day, thematic events such as the forum on "The Inheritance and Development of Confucianism in the South" were conducted.