Book lovers look for their next good read on the last day of the weeklong Shanghai Book Fair at Shanghai Exhibition Center yesterday. The event attracted a record number of visitors and more than 500 publishing houses, along with 150,000 titles.(Zhang Suoqing)
The seven-day Shanghai Book Fair was capped off last night with an event featuring renowned artists and TV hosts including Liu Xiao Ling Tong, who is best known for playing the Monkey King in the TV series Journey to the West, and Wang Yong, a host on China Central Television.
A record 80,000 visitors attended the annual book fair on Sunday, according to the organizer, Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau. Xu Jiong, head of the bureau, said many residents embrace reading events through the year, rather than just during the fair.
"For example, the weekly reading events held in Sinan Mansions and in the back of book stores," Xu said. "Many book stores are working with publishing houses to hold reading events to attract the city's book lovers."
According to Xu, there are about 50 reading events held in Shanghai every week.
"Some books can be better enjoyed when read silently by ourselves, while some can be better when read out loud," said Liang Boluo, a prominent actor who has been a featured guest at the annual book fair for many years. "That's why we always say we should be very careful when selecting which books to read at such events, so that the audience can better understand the book and therefore promote reading."
He read the poem "I Like for You to be Still" by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda last night.
