On the morning of August 23, the inauguration ceremony for the 2026 cohort of graduate students specializing in fine traditional Chinese culture was held at the Nishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture in Jining, Shandong Province. A total of 730 graduate students attended the ceremony, both on-site and online.

The Nishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture represents a major initiative launched by the Ministry of Education and Shandong Province to implement important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, advance the national cultural strategy, and carry forward the Chinese cultural heritage. It also serves as an educational platform dedicated to putting the "two integrations"(integrating the underlying tenets of Marxism with China's realities and the best of its traditional culture)into practice and promoting the "creative transformation and innovative development" of fine traditional Chinese culture. Leveraging its 16 partner institutions and research bases in Zibo, Dezhou, and Binzhou in Shandong, Nanping in Fujian, and Zhoukou in Henan, the school has established a "1+16+N" collaborative education system that breaks down barriers between institutions, regions, and academic disciplines. By bringing together leading faculty, high-quality courses, and research bases, it provides a broad platform for interdisciplinary research and cross-disciplinary inquiry.

From August 15 to 28, the graduate students from the 16 partner institutions participated in an intensive research program. Through a series of thematic lectures, immersive field studies, and cultural exchange activities, they moved beyond textbooks to trace the roots of fine traditional Chinese culture, experience the primal vitality of Chinese civilization, and hear the voices of ancient sages echoing across millennia.