Latest Events in Jining(February Updated)

The 2026 Jining Taibai Lake Spring Festival Lantern Festival illuminated the shores of Taibai Lake before the Spring Festival holiday. With "Confucian and Mencian Heritage, Canal Lights" as its core theme, the festival integrated Jining's Confucian culture, canal culture, and traditional Spring Festival elements, creating themed lanterns such as "Peach and Plum Trees Everywhere," "Canal Capital," and "Ten Thousand Lights." Through the deep integration of traditional lantern art and modern lighting technology, the festival aims to establish Jining Taibai Lake as a cultural tourism brand for the Spring Festival.

"Golden Sound and Jade Vibration" is a grand ceremonial music performance staged at the Ritual Music Hall in Nishan Sacred Land. As is well known, Nishan Sacred Land's cultural symbol is Confucius. In "Mencius: Wan Zhang II," it states: "To assemble the great achievements is like the golden sound and the jade vibration. The golden sound marks the beginning of order; the jade vibration marks the completion of order. To begin order is the work of wisdom; to complete order is the work of the sage." This passage praises Confucius and the extraordinary accomplishments of the ritual music culture he advocated. Therefore, we have named the entire ceremonial music performance "Golden Sound and Jade Vibration." Since Confucius' lifelong ideal was the pursuit of ritual and music, with the magnificent "Shao Music" being its supreme representation, our production centers around "Shao Music" as the core performance. Guided by the conceptual directions of "Confucius for the World" and "Confucius' World," we integrate classical Chinese art forms like poetry, music, and dance with cutting-edge contemporary stage technologies—including advanced installations, large-scale machinery, and holographic projections—to create a breathtaking and dazzling cultural masterpiece. This work promotes a refined lifestyle rooted in ritual propriety while celebrating traditional Chinese culture. Through the harmonies of ritual music, we channel timeless elegance; across heaven and earth, the noble spirit of the junzi resonates! The ancients described the exquisite and grand imagery of Shao music with the phrase "When the nine movements of the Xiao Shao were performed, the phoenix came to pay homage." Accordingly, we have divided the entire performance into three acts, four seasons, and nine musical pieces—a poetic soundscape of "Feng, Ya, Song" across three acts; the cyclical scenes of "spring, summer, fall, and winter"; and three musical pieces per act, totaling nine movements, forming a harmonious and auspicious symphony of golden sounds and jade vibrations. Since the complete Shao music has long been lost to time, during our re-creation process, we were inspired by Confucius' great achievements in promoting ritual music. Thus, we drew material and inspiration from three classical texts: *The Rites of Zhou*, *The Book of Rites*, and *The Ceremonies and Rites*. At the same time, using the seasonal changes of "spring, summer, fall, and winter" as an emotional thread, it subtly aligns with the cyclical renewal of nature and Confucius' lifelong pursuit of knowledge. The pure white egret serves as a visual motif throughout the story. As Qufu's city bird, it also represents the beautiful imagery depicted in ancient poetry. Through its unique perspective, the performance will showcase the profound depth of China's ritual and musical culture!

Marc Sabbah, known as the "Paganini of the Viola" and currently the principal violist of the Belgian National Symphony Orchestra, will perform in Jining with Belgian pianist Elian Reyes. The concert will focus on themes of romance and passion: the first half will feature the profound depths of Brahms's "Viola Sonata No. 2" and the cantabile melodies of Schubert's "Arpeggioni Sonata." The second half will journey across the Iberian Peninsula, showcasing the fiery rhythms of Falla's "Seven Spanish Folk Songs" and the profound sorrow of Glazunov's "Elegy." Marc's 1951 Chicago-made Leroy Geiger viola boasts a rich tone, with luminous high notes and deep bass. Combined with the dynamic piano textures, the concert will allow the audience to experience the Unlimited possibilities of the viola in just 90 minutes.

The 2025 China International Confucius Cultural Festival will be held in Qufu, Jining, from September 27th to 28th. The Temple of Confucius, the Cemetery of Confucius, and the Confucius Mansion in Qufu, collectively known as the "Three Confucius Sites," are sacred sites throughout China where Confucius has been commemorated and worshipped by Confucian scholars throughout history. They symbolize the admiration of Confucianism and are renowned for their rich cultural heritage, long history, grand scale, extensive collection of cultural relics, and scientific and artistic value.