The Macau Pavilion of this year’s South China Book Festival kicked off yesterday at the Macau Federation of Neighbourhood Associations’ GroupPoint Youth Centre on Avenida do General Castelo Branco, showcasing nearly 1,000 books and more than 100 cultural and creative products published in the mainland and Macau.
The annual book fair has been co-hosted by the Guangdong provincial government since 1993.
The book festival, which is being held under the guidance of the Publicity and Culture Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau and the Publicity Department of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, is co-hosted by Guangdong Provincial Publishing Group Company Limited, Nanfang Media Publication Company Limited, Guangdong Xinhua Publication Group, the Macau Cultural Education Publications Association, and Cultural Hall.
Jiang Mingtao, chairman of Guangdong Xinhua Publication Group, said in a speech during yesterday’s kick-off ceremony that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the book festival, adding that over the past 30 years, “We have clearly seen what reading has brought to people’s lives, what it has changed and what it has created”. He also said: “Looking for context in the past experience is an important way to interpret and look ahead to people’s reading habits today and in the future.”
Lam Fat Iam, the president of the Macau Cultural Education Publications Association, said in his speech at the ceremony that the publishing industries of both Guangdong and Macau hope to jointly cultivate everyone’s reading habits, while creating a strong cultural, academic and learning atmosphere in Macau by holding the South China Book Festival here, together with the local book fairs, such as the Macau Book Fair Carnival.
The three-day book festival opens daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through tomorrow, during which a variety of reading and exhibition activities and book discounts are available.
Most of the books are Chinese language editions.
This photo taken yesterday shows one of the corners at the South China Book Festival at the Macau Federation of Neighbourhood Associations’ GroupPoint Youth Centre on Avenida do General Castelo Branco. – Photo: Yuki Lei
