Tiantai Mountain, Tiantai county, Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

The 2023 Hehe Culture Global Forum is set to take place in Tiantai county, Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province from No 6 to 8.

As part of the event, six additional sub-venues will be established in Paris, France; Tokyo, Japan; Hanover, Germany; Cairo, Egypt; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Cape Town, South Africa. The aim is to promote Hehe culture on a global scale.

Tiantai county is widely recognized as the birthplace of Hehe culture, which is considered one of the three major cultures in Zhejiang, along with Yangming culture in Ningbo and Southern Confucianism in Quzhou.

In 2021, Tiantai was designated as the permanent host venue for the Hehe Culture Global Forum. This decision was influenced by local folklore, which claims that two monks named Hanshan and Shide lived a secluded life on Tiantai Mountain during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In paintings, they are often shown holding a box and a lotus stem.

During the rule of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Hanshan was bestowed the title of He God, while Shide was conferred the title of Ho God. These two gods became a symbol of unity and harmony in Chinese culture due to the auspicious nature of the names "He" and "Ho".

Today, Hehe culture is an integral part of Taizhou's identity, and the city has made significant efforts to share it with the rest of the world. In recent years, Taizhou has taken various measures, such as establishing research organizations, offering open courses, and creating textbooks and journals, to promote Hehe culture.