Tiantai, Zhejiang (TDI): The 2026 edition of the Hehe Culture Forum opened in Tiantai County, Taizhou City, in China’s eastern Zhejiang Province on Tuesday.
Scholars, officials, diplomats and cultural figures from a number of countries are attending the forum which runs from October 26-28 under the theme “Hehe for Lasting Progress—Walking Together Along the Great Way.”
The forum is hosted by the CPC Taizhou Municipal Committee, the Taizhou Municipal People’s Government, and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies of the China International Communications Group.
The Publicity Department of the CPC Taizhou Municipal Committee and the Tiantai County authorities are organizers. The Tiantai Mountain Hehe Culture Foundation is the co-organizer.
The opening ceremony kickstarted with the screening of a video, The Origins of Hehe Culture. Yu Hanyin, Deputy Director General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, moderated the session.
Wang Jian, Secretary of the CPC Taizhou Municipal Committee, delivered the welcome address while Chang Bo, President of the China International Communications Group, and Zhang Xuewei, Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, gave opening remarks.
The ceremony also included video messages from former ambassadors for the promotion of Hehe culture, and the release of global Hehe culture practice cases.
Keynote speeches followed after a short tea break, moderated by Li Yafang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the China International Communications Group and President of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies.
The speakers were Khairiddin Usmonzoda – Director of the Center for Strategic Research under the President of Tajikistan, Liu Limin – former Vice Minister of Education, Robert Walker – Professor at Beijing Normal University and Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford, and Kin Phea – Director General of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia.
A ceremonies segment afterwards, hosted by Wei Xiao of Zhejiang Television’s international channel, featured a presentation of research on Hehe culture and the symbols of Chinese civilization and the launch of a global call for entries to the Hehe Culture Digital Art Competition, themed “Digital as Medium, Harmony in Coexistence.”
Signing of the Hehe Culture Technology and Industry Fund, a showcase of international communication brand activities, and awards for outstanding Hehe Culture overseas stations were also the highlights of the Forum’s opening.
Parallel sessions began in the afternoon and are now under way. They cover the contemporary value of the Chinese concept of Hehe, Hehe business philosophy and regional openness, traditional culture and cross-cultural exchange, and youth and global sustainable development. The Tiantai Mountain Dialogue is scheduled for Wednesday.
Muhammad Asif Noor, Director of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies (IPDS), Pakistan, is among the speakers in the first part of the parallel session on the Contemporary Value of the Chinese Concept of Hehe.
He is also moderating the second part of the same session and will share the stage with scholars and experts from Italy, Serbia and China.
