2017 South China Book Festival to be held from Aug. 10

Throughout the coming days, Guangzhou citizens will again be able to enjoy the annual reading festival.

The 2017 South China Book Festival and the Canton Book Fair are to be held at Area B of the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou from August 10 to 14.

This year, the theme of the festival is “reading as an attitude toward life”. Over 300 cultural activities will be staged, and more than 350 celebrities and literati will be present to interact with attendees.

Furthermore, this year the festival will extend its hours, open until 9:00 pm and will also hold “reading nights” from Aug. 11 to 13.

Below are some of the highlights of this year’s festival:

Children’s Hall at the 2016 South China Book Festival. [Photo: Newsgd.com/Monica]

★ Diversified exhibition halls, special reading promotion areas

Like last year, the 2017 South China Book Festival covers an area of 40,000 square meters but this time has a more diverse range of exhibition halls; including the Canton Book Fair Hall, Guangdong Publishing Group Hall, China Publishing Group Hall, Children’s Hall, Brand Publishing Hall, Digital Publishing Hall, Special Offer Hall, Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan Hall, as well as Picture Book Hall, Brand Bookstore Hall, Handicraft Hall, and so on.

Special reading promotion areas are being set up for 14 well known reading promotion agencies to stage over 20 activities.

In the meantime, satellite venues will bring the festival to 13 other cities around Guangdong, including Zhuhai, Foshan, Shaoguan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Qingyuan, Chaozhou, and Yunfu.

A book-signing at the 2016 South China Book Festival. [Photo: Newsgd.com/Monica]

★ Celebrities to give lectures, “reading nights” to be held for the first time

Every year, the festival attracts a great many writers and celebrities, who both promote their books and give lectures. This year, over 350 big shots from various literary circles will attend the festival, including the writers Wang Meng, Su Tong, Geling Yan, and columnist Chua Lam.

The “reading nights” will be held during the evening until 9:00 pm from Aug. 11 to 13. Cultural activities on different themes will be held every night.

On the evening of Aug. 11, a reading talent show with the theme “the journey of a book” will be held, featuring special guests reading good books and articles.

The following evening (Aug 12), an activity named “A 24 hour reading plan” will be staged, during which attendees will have the chance to talk with the VIP guests face to face. There will also be stage performances, street dance, cosplay, etc.

Visitors read at the 2016 South China Book Festival. [Photo: Newsgd.com/Monica]

★ Free admission, 40% off books

All can visit the book festival for free, the lectures are open to the public for free, and visitors can also get gifts by collecting souvenir stamps at the festival. Many halls will offer promotional books for free as well.

On the night of Aug. 13, most of the books will be sold with a 40% discount from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. On the final day of the festival, all books are sold with at least 20% to 25% off. More discounts will be provided in Special Offer Hall.

★ Exhibition Info

1.Period: Aug. 10 -14, 2017

2.Venue: Hall 10.2-13.2, Area B, Canton Fair Complex

3.Time:

9:00 - 17:00, Aug. 10;

9:00 - 21:00, Aug. 11 - 13;

9:00 - 17:00, Aug. 14;

4.Metro: Exit A of Xingangdong station, or Exit A/B of Pazhou station, Line 8

5.Bus: Take Bus No. B7 express, University Town Line 3, 229, 239, 262, 304, 461, 582, or 763 and get off at Pazhou station.