Book fair to stay open till late

The 2013 annual book fair will be held from August 14 to 20 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center this year, with officials saying that the opening hours will be extended till late evening.

The operating hours of the fair will be extended to 12 hours, starting from 9am till 9pm. Previously, the fair was open to visitors only on Friday and weekend nights.

"We hope more people will be able to visit the book fair and the evening show will be cooler," said Kan Ninghui, deputy director of the Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau.

The admission fee is 10 yuan (US$1.63) for daytime entry and 5 yuan for evening entry at 6pm. Tickets will be available at the exhibition gate.

The bureau is keen to create an international atmosphere for the fair and it has invited dozens of international authors and critics to attend the fair, including Austrian novelist Peter Handke and Englishman Geoff Dyer.