The first international forum on Faxian Culture and Maritime Silk Road was held in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, with more than 1,000 guests in attendance.

The event was sponsored by Long Hua Institute of Sri Lanka. Among the guests were President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena, Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka, Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan and vice president of Buddhist Association of China, the Most Venerable Chun Yi.

During the forum, guests delivered speeches about the friendship between China and Sri Lanka, as well as the profound history of Faxian Culture.

Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who lived between 337AD and 422AD. He traveled from China to ancient India by foot, visited many Buddhist sites on the way and brought back to China many important Buddhist texts and images, contributing to the cultural exchanges of that time.

A set of commemorative stamps was issued during the opening ceremony. The Buddhist monks and scholars discussed the combination of Faxian Culture and the Maritime Silk Road during the panels.

During the following week, a series of events will also be held including the marking of the birth anniversary of Faxian, prayer meetings, visits to Buddhist sites and cultural discussions.