Aimed at improving global governance and addressing common challenges of mankind, the 2021 Hehe Culture Global Forum was held in southeastern Zhejiang province’s Tiantai county on December 9.

The forum focused on common prosperity, inclusive development, harmonious coexistence and ecological civilization.

“In the post-pandemic era, it is a common goal for us to promote a sustainable and fair recovery in the world, and harmony and cooperation are the key steps,” said Han Nathan, Consul General of the Republic of Malta in Shanghai, said at the opening ceremony.

Tiantai County is the cradle of Hehe culture, which originated in Tiantai Mountain. Hehe refers to two homophones, meaning “harmony” and ‘cooperation” respectively in Chinese.

The forum aimed to look for positive inspiration from the time-honored Hehe culture to tackle the difficulties faced by human beings. Some experts pointed out that different views on diplomacy should not refute each other’s viewpoints. Instead, we must work hard to achieve reconciliation in order to have win-win outcomes.

American video journalist Jack Klumpp looks to explore how Hehe influences the Chinese culture as well as the civilizations of the rest of the world. He visits Guoqing Temple to understand the origin of Tiantai Buddhism, and learns to practice the handicraft called “yigenteng”, an art assembling pieces of different sizes and shapes into one work.