Int'l Confucius Culture Festival begins   

2012中国(曲阜)国际孔子文化节启幕

中国(曲阜)国际孔子文化节27日晚在孔子故里山东曲阜杏坛剧场拉开帷幕。被誉为世界教育界的“诺贝尔奖”的“孔子教育奖”和“孔子友谊奖”被8名外籍专家获得。

Qufu (CNS) -- The 2012 China (Qufu) International Confucius Culture Festival kicked off Thursday in the philosopher's hometown in Shandong Province.

Over 3,000 participants attended yesterday's opening ceremony, where eight foreign scholars and experts were awarded the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy and the Confucius Peace Prize.

The festival was created in 1984 and has been held in Qufu every year since. It usually concludes with inaugural and Confucius-worshipping ceremonies, performance galas and related cultural activities.

The festival serves not only as a pageant to commemorate the world-famous philosopher, but also as a way to introduce Chinese culture to the world.

This year marks the 2,563rd anniversary of the birth of Confucius.