On September 4, a day after attending China's 70th Victory Day anniversary parade in Beijing, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon went to Qufu City in east China's Shandong Province, the birthplace of Confucius, to offer floral tributes at the tomb of the great philosopher.

Qufu is a must-see city not only for dignitaries but all traditional Chinese culture lovers. Its cultural importance can be gauged from the fact that in 2006, the State Council officially included the Confucius memorial ceremony held annually in the city in the first batch of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage items.

China has been witnessing a boom in ancient Chinese civilization and culture studies, through people-to-people exchanges and government-supported campaigns, and Qufu has been at its forefront.

Old is gold

Bozhou, a city in northwest Anhui Province, recently hosted Ode to Gentlemen, a performance promoting traditional Chinese culture. The event saw many young students in ancient Chinese costumes declaiming from Chinese philosophical classics on stage.

Bozhou has a deep relationship with ancient Chinese philosophy, being the home of Laozi, the founder of Taoism, and Zhuangzi, a Taoist sage, two philosophers who advocated naturalness and spontaneity.

The city has a series of Taoist monuments such as the Zhuangzi Temple and the Tian Jing Palace. Now it has Ode to Gentlemen, a large-scale cultural activity propagating traditional Chinese culture.

Many young people are volunteering to participate in these activities. An ancient Chinese civilization enthusiast, who declined to be named, said he had joined a society in his school days. "I've always loved traditional Chinese culture and art. When I see so many students on campus with the same pursuit, I get very excited," he said. "We organize workshops and research, learn calligraphy and painting. Promoting traditional Chinese culture benefits everyone."

He added that many well-known universities, such as Peking University, Nanjing University and Wuhan University, have their own traditional culture communities. "We also have a Han clothing society," he said. "Many people may be simply interested in the clothes worn during the Han Dynasty period (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). That is why we established this society."

Han attire - "traditional Chinese clothing" - is characterized by outstanding craftsmanship, exquisite embroidery, dyeing and weaving. An important component of Chinese culture, it is being appreciated and promoted by more and more young people in China in recent times. There are a variety of exhibitions and shows on Han garments in China.