Friends from the media, good afternoon,

I remember on May 16, we hosted a press conference on the 100-day countdown of the 22nd International Congress of Historical Sciences (ICHS) in Jinan. Tomorrow the 22nd Congress will declare open. That is to say, we have prepared tensely for the Congress for 100 days. It has been five years since the Association of Chinese Historians bade for the Congress in the ICHS Amsterdam in August 2010. If we look back even further, the Association of Chinese Historians bade for the Congress for the first time in ICHS held in Montreal, Canada in 1995. It was the first time the Association bade officially but failed. Twenty years have passed by now. Let’s look back at the history again: In 1905, during the Qing Dynasty, Chinese scholars began to report the convening of International Congress of Historical Sciences in publications. Counting from that time, 110 years have passed. It is 110 years long since Chinese historians and Chinese historian circle expected for the International Congress of Historical Sciences (ICHS) to be held in China. The aspiration for hosting ICHS lasts until now. Tomorrow, ICHS is finally convened in Aisa, in China and in Jinan.

In preparation for this congress, International Congress of Historical Sciences, Association of Chinese Historians and Shandong University have cooperated closely with each other and contributed greatly in the past five years. Our work received support from friends in the circle of historical sciences both at home and abroad. We in particular held a conference for the Chairpersons of Association of Historians of each provinces in china to promote and introduce the ICHS, so that more scholars can attend the Congress in Jinan. Since 1980, Association of Chinese Historians began to organize the delegation of twenty to thirsty to attend the ICHS and attended every Congress ever since. The estimated number of the Chinese historians who attend the 22nd ICHS is over 1500 now, which is the largest delegation sent by Association of Chinese Historians to ICHS - a delegation of 1500 people.

There has been a close cooperation among The International Committee of Historical Sciences, Chinese History Society and Shandong University, so I firmly believe that International Congress of Historical Sciences, which starts officially tomorrow, will surely be a great success.

Finally, I’d like to express special thanks to friends from the media. For a long time, this congress in Jinan has received substantial support from press circles, media and friends from all walks of life. I would like to thank every of you here for your previous reports on various media.