CHANGSHA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- An international youth forum promoting creativity and heritage protection along the Belt and Road opened Monday in a 1,000-year-old academy in central China's Hunan Province.

More than 100 people from 65 countries along the Belt and Road, UNESCO staff and foreign diplomats attended the forum in Yuelu Academy which was founded in 976.

In a congratulatory message to the forum, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong encouraged the young people to view the world with an attitude of appreciation, mutual learning and sharing to promote exchange and co-existence.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova sent a video message to the opening ceremony of the forum.

Participants will listen to academic reports, hold symposiums and visit cultural heritage sites in Changsha, capital of Hunan, and Quanzhou in Fujian Province.