2019 Hong Kong Book Fair: Event's 30th edition seeks to cultivate interest in reading

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Hong Kong's annual book fair opened with readers hunting down materials from science fiction and politics, to travel and cooking. The event hopes to cultivate reading interest across Hong Kong. Zhu Dan tells us more.

ZHU DAN "From time to time, people may wonder why reading is so important. Through reading, people enter a different world, where they can discover new ideas, new solutions to problems, and even new questions. And it's here at the annual Hong Kong Book Fair that they may find some answers."

The book fair -- one of the world's largest -- will run for seven days at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai. This year, it registered a record-high 686 exhibitors from 39 countries and regions. This year also marks the book fair's 30th edition, with the theme "Sci-Fi and Mystery".

SOPHIA CHONG, ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HONG KONG TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL "Hong Kong is home to a number of sci-fi and mystery writers -- some of whom are very well-known, such as Ni Kuang. His 'Wisely Series' is a big hit among younger and older generations. This is just a teaser of Hong Kong's reading culture and the ways it is being promoted in the region."

Ping Lu is a writer from Taiwan. She has published a broad range of works from novels and essays to poems and theater plays.

Her novel "Love and Revolution" has garnered worldwide attention. The story reimagines the lives of the legendary couple Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching-ling in modern-day China. One of her most recent works is a mystery novel called "The River Darkens".

Lu says she is devoted to writing and that it is the most important thing in her life.

PING LU TAIWAN WRITER "It opens doors for me to the outside world, and also I have the chance to open the inside of myself. That's even more precious."

She also enjoys reading and says she can always connect with an author when she is reading.

PING LU TAIWAN WRITER "Since I was a kid, reading has given me so much pleasure. And even now, to me, this is the most intimate moment with myself when I'm with the book."

ZHU DAN "Here at the book fair, it's not just about reading. It's also about immersing yourself in culture – whether modern or traditional. And that gives our hearts a quiet space to relax."

Reading enables us to cherish tradition and discover new ones as well. Zhu Dan, CGTN, Hong Kong.