Zhu Guoxian, publicity chief of Zhejiang province, presides over a ceremony to mark the 2,570th birthday of Confucius in Quzhou on Saturday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A ceremony was held in Quzhou of Zhejiang on Saturday to mark the 2,570th birthday of Confucius, an ancient Chinese educator and philosopher.

The ceremony was held at the Nanzong Confucius Temple, one of the Confucius family temples, gathering officials, representatives from 11 Confucius Institutes worldwide, scholars, students and descendants of Confucius. 

Saturday also witnessed the start of the shooting of Nan Kong,a two-episode TV documentary depicting the southern migration of Confucian family descendants.

Quzhou is home to the Confucian ancestral hall for the southern branch of the Confucian family, one of two of its kind in the world, along with the ancestral hall in Qufu city of Shandong province.

In 1128, Kong Duanyou, an officially recognized direct descendant of the 48th generation of the Confucian family tree, moved most of his family members, along with Southern Song Dynasty Emperor Gaozong (420-479), from Qufu while fleeing the invading Jin army. They headed south, and finally resettled in Quzhou.

Since then, Quzhou has served as the second-largest center for studying, interpreting and spreading Confucian concepts in southern China.