A ceremony is held to commemorate Liu Ji, a well-known philosopher, politician and strategist who was born in Lishui some 710 years ago. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The opening ceremony for the commemoration of the 710th anniversary of the birth of the great Chinese thinker and statesman Liu Ji and the Liu Ji Cultural Symposium took place in Qingtian county – administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – on July 22.

Hundreds of people gathered to discuss the spiritual connotation and contemporary value of Liu Ji's cultural thoughts.

They included leading experts, academics and cultural representatives from home and abroad, a Qingtian overseas Chinese delegation, representatives of foreign chambers of commerce and business circles, as well as representatives of Liu Ji's descendants.

Liu Ji, born in Qingtian, was an outstanding thinker, politician, strategist and writer as well as one of the founding fathers of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), who had a profound knowledge of the classics and history, astronomy, as well as military strategy and tactics.

He was one of Lishui's most important historical and cultural sons, who played a formative role in Chinese culture.

The three-day long activity was aimed at paying tribute to the ancient sages, promoting the development of the local mountainous areas through the transformative influence of culture and further achieving a common prosperity.

Qingtian has attached great importance to the development of its culture. The county adopted Liu Ji's oeuvre as a key part of its present-day culture and conducted in-depth explorations and research into his body of thought.

In order to advance the integration of its culture and tourism, Qingtian also designed two distinctive tourism routes that related to Liu Ji.