On October 23, 2023, the ninth day of the ninth month in Chinese lunar year, 
the grand worship ceremony was held in Shangqiu City, Henan Province, China. 
About 500 representatives of Chinese merchants from home and abroad gathered 
together to worship Wang Hai, the ancestor of Chinese merchants, and promote 
the spirit of Chinese merchants, which is characterized by upholding virtue and 
benevolence, emphasizing business ethics, honesty and trustworthiness, and 
seeking innovation and change, and express the determination of unity and 
collaboration for the future, according to the Organizing Committee of the 9th 
China Shangqiu International Chinese Merchants Festival.

The groundwork for this gathering was laid 4,000 years ago. At that time, there 
was a tribe called "Shang" that was active in this area. The seventh leader of 
the tribe, Wang Hai, was skilled in trade, and the tribe gradually prospered 
and grew stronger. After several generations of accumulation, the Shang tribe 
established the second dynasty in Chinese history, the Shang Dynasty. The deeds 
of Wang Hai were engraved on oracle bones and passed down to later generations. 
The Chinese people believe that Wang Hai pioneered commercial trade, so he is 
revered as the "ancestor of merchants". Many Chinese characters related to 
trade activities are also named with the Chinese character of "shang", such as 
commerce (shangye), commodity (shangpin), and merchant (shangren). Therefore, 
Shangqiu is considered the birthplace of the ancestor of merchants, the Shang 
tribe, the Shang Dynasty, merchants, commodities, commerce, and merchant 
culture, attracting many Chinese people to hold festivals and pay homage here. 
This year marks the ninth edition.

Today, Shangqiu has developed transportation and is one of the few cities in 
China that serves as a comprehensive transportation hub for both high-speed and 
conventional railways, as well as a node city in the "Eight Verticals and Eight 
Horizontals" high-speed railway network. Shangqiu currently has three 
hundred-billion level industrial clusters in equipment manufacturing, textile 
and apparel manufacturing, and food production, as well as eleven ten-billion 
level industrial clusters in refrigeration, measuring tools, and superhard 
materials. The city is vigorously developing emerging industries such as new 
energy vehicles, new materials, electronic information, and biomedicine, and is 
also planning for multiple future industries including life and health, 
carbon-based new materials, hydrogen energy and storage, brain-inspired 
intelligence, and metaverse. Shangqiu is committed to creating a first-class 
business environment, constructing a gateway and hub for opening up to the 
outside world, and building an important center for international land ports 
and the Belt and Road Initiative. The city keeps upholding and promoting the 
tradition of respecting, valuing, and supporting businesses.

Source: Organizing Committee of the 9th China Shangqiu International Chinese 
Merchants Festival

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   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=442771

   Caption: Global Chinese merchants worship their ancestor in Shangqiu, China.