The Center for Research and Experience of Traditional Chinese Culture of Shandong University, or the center, was planned in early 2009 and was jointly built by the Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and Shandong University. On Oct 15 of 2011, both professor Xu Jialu, vice chairman of the 9th and 10th National People’s Congress and Xu Lin, consultant to the State Council and director-general of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, attended the inauguration ceremony and unveiled the nameplate. The center is located on the 24th and 25th floors of the Zhixin Building in the central campus of Shandong University, with a total floor space of 2,600 square meters.

The purposes of the center are manifold. It explores modes of cultural teaching and cultural communications based on experience, which are supported by the intrinsic advantages of national platforms and universities. In this way, cultural functions can be implemented and social values achieved through education. It presents traditional culture in daily life, so as to make Chinese culture life oriented. It also focuses on comparing and sharing different cultures around the world at the same time. In addition, it recounts Chinese stories in an international way, to reinforce cultural presentation, interpretation and communication.

The Experience Hall for Traditional Chinese Culture, or the hall, is a very important part of the center. Its main function is to provide courses about traditional Chinese culture based on experience and to achieve cultural communications. There are 16 teaching zones for experiencing, with more than 100 teaching points. The overall design of the hall lays emphasis on presenting, explaining and experiencing Chinese culture in a modern context. The expressions, changes and connotative meanings of traditional culture in modern life are emphasized here. In the end, it helps experiencers to experience, understand and get general ideas about Chinese culture.

The center is a comprehensive scientific research institution. Its main subject is Language and Culture Communication, a key discipline in the Education Ministry's "985 project", a Chinese version of the Ivy League, authorized by Ministry of Education. It does research, inter alia, into modern values and social representations of traditional Chinese culture, as well as conducts the interdisciplinary research of the Confucius Institute. In recent years, it has achieved comprehensive developments in ideas, modes, academic studies and social services.