CRI听力:Beijing Book Festival Takes on an International Image

Each year, the Beijing Book Fair, often referred to as the Ditan book fair, attracts huge numbers of Beijing citizens as they come looking to buy books and enjoy the atmosphere at this event which celebrates culture and knowledge.

This year was particularly important for the Ditan book fair due to the international nature of the books on offer.

Poland, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Italy set up stalls in order to introduce their country's books and culture to the citizens of Beijing.

Mr. Theodore Georgakelos, the Greek ambassador to China believes that the book fair is a good opportunity for cultural exchange between China and Greece.

"We wanted to even more deepen our cultural relations with the Chinese republic. This is a relation that existed very vivid, but we wanted to extend it even more. Many books of Ancient and Modern Greek literature are translated into Chinese and are taught even in universities of China. We wanted to continue and deepen this knowledge. Because we firmly believe that the cultural exchanges is the best solidifying factor of good and friendly relations. And with China who has also a very long tradition and very long history, the exchanges are very strong and we want to keep and develop them even more."

Machtelt Schelling, Head of the Press and Cultural Department at the Dutch embassy, is also delighted to be a part of this year's event.

"Every year we participate in the Beijing International Book Fair in September. Now we heard about the Ditan book fair. It's the first time that the Netherlands is participating. It was a huge success last year in the Beijing Exhibition Center, so we thought it is good if we share our books with as many books Chinese people as possible. And we see that its very lively exhibition and many people are already here and ask questions. So we are very happy.
 
Every year, several image ambassadors are appointed to promote the book fair and invite people to come read.

This year, Francis Tchiegue, a Cameroonian scholar and enthusiast of the Chinese language and Chinese crosstalk, was given the honor of being the first foreign citizen to act as one of the festival's image ambassadors. He is extremely pleased with his new role and invites international friends to come and learn about Chinese culture through the joy of reading.

"I invite global readers to come and visit. Even if they don't understand the Chinese language, they can still come. There are many Chinese books available in a number of foreign languages, which look at history and Confucianism. Through reading these works, people can gradually know more about Chinese culture. And if they have the opportunity to learn Chinese, just like me, they can gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture."

With this year's theme being 'Wonderful Reading, Elegant Beijing', the 10th Beijing International Book Festival exhibits more than 300 thousand books, videos and audio products. It will last from the 18th to the 27th of May.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.