A major literary event is set to take place in Ningbo, offering a special experience for families and young readers.
The 34th National Book Fair's Ningbo branch venue will run from July 24th to 27th, bringing the joy of reading directly to children and their parents.
This event centers on the theme "I Read Classics with My Child," aiming to create a city-wide reading culture through a coordinated network of cultural sites.
This network connects the Ningbo Book Culture Park, the historic Tianyi Pavilion, city and county libraries, children's libraries, and numerous distinctive bookstores across the region.
It represents a city-wide commitment to reading, where parents share classics with their children, and the city integrates literature into its streets, bookshops, libraries, and even its scenic riverside evenings.
Adults and children can connect over shared stories, rediscovering the warmth of reading together within the urban landscape.
Primary Venue: Ningbo Book Culture Park
The core activities will be concentrated at the Ningbo Book Culture Park, a familiar landmark for many locals.
Established in 2010, this expansive park covers over 90,000 square meters and is a key cultural hub situated at a strategic point along the city's "Three Rivers and Hundred-Mile Cultural Corridor."
The park's story begins with an old factory, the Taifeng Flour Mill, one of Ningbo's historical industrial sites.
This industrial heritage has been transformed, now housing cultural spaces like the Ningbo Book Mall, the Yinzhou District Children's Library, the Ningbo Publishing House, and various art galleries and parks.
The old architecture has been preserved and repurposed into a new cultural landmark, serving as an everyday space for citizens to engage with reading, art, and the city's cultural heritage.
Children's Reading Carnival
During the book fair, the park will integrate the Ningbo Book Mall, the Yinzhou District Children's Library, over 50 popular children's book IPs from across the country, and the Riverside Cultural Promenade to create a comprehensive children's reading carnival.
This carnival will feature classic literature, trending intellectual properties, and specialty markets across approximately 8,000 square meters of combined indoor and outdoor exhibition space.
Children can explore books, view exhibits, and meet their favorite characters from children's literature.
Parents can accompany them, participate in discussions, and transform a simple reading activity into a cherished family memory.
Guiding Children to Great Literature
A great book can be a child's companion for a long time.
The "Classic Navigation" exhibition area, located in the Ningbo Book Mall and the Yinzhou District Children's Library, will showcase and sell a wide range of high-quality children's books.
This includes picture books, children's literature, popular science encyclopedias, and titles selected as "Preferred Good Books" for the carnival.
The area gathers premium works from top domestic children's publishers and renowned authors, offering rich choices for children of different ages and reading interests.
Young readers who love visual stories can immerse themselves in the world of picture books.
Those developing their reading habits can find characters, stories, and growth in children's literature.
Curious minds can seek answers in science and knowledge books.
A special "Ningbo Bookshelf" will also feature excellent local publications, helping children learn about their hometown and the city's cultural heritage through reading.
Additional displays will include family art exhibitions, reading promotion achievement showcases, and photography exhibitions on the theme of public reading, making the act of reading visible, shareable, and recordable.
A series of reading promotion events, including sessions led by famous authors and new book launches, will run concurrently.
Renowned writers such as Cao Wenxuan, Shen Shixi, Ma Boyong, and "Uncle Tank" will make appearances, leading over 40 reading sessions and book signings.
Having a guide makes entering the world of classics easier for children, and meeting authors brings the worlds of reading and creation closer together.
Brand Children's Book Pavilion
For many children, the first step into reading is often not a thick classic but a familiar character, a beloved story, or an inviting world from a children's book.
This is the purpose of the Brand Children's Book Pavilion.
During the fair, the Ningbo Book Culture Park will host popular children's IPs like "Làng Huā Duǒ Duǒ," "Detective Mike Fox," "Super Tank in the Pocket," "Cat Little Nine," and "Great China Treasure Hunt."
Through themed decorations and immersive scene experiences, a cluster of brand bookhouses will be created that are enjoyable for browsing, reading, and photo opportunities.
Children can meet their book friends here, not just by selecting books from a shelf but by stepping into a story setting, sparking interest through the environment, and then carrying that interest back to the books themselves.
This is crucial for family reading.
Often, a child falls in love with a book not because of an adult's explanations, but because they are first captivated—by a character, an illustration, or the beginning of a story.
The Brand Children's Book Pavilion amplifies this appeal, making reading more approachable, fun, and suitable for family participation.
Summer Night Breeze Market
After visiting the book fair by day, what can families do in the evening? The answer lies along the Riverside Cultural Promenade.
Leveraging the Grand Canal and the unique riverside scenery, the Ningbo Book Culture Park is creating a composite market ecosystem that encourages deep consumer participation.
The "Summer Night Book Talk · Evening Breeze Market" will combine the ambiance of the night, river breezes, lively atmosphere, and the scent of books.
The market will feature various entities, including distinctive brick-and-mortar bookstores, intangible cultural heritage crafts, the Ningbo FC football club fan center, and trendy food and beverage outlets.
Activities will include author interviews on a "Reading Ningbo" radio program and book exchange events.
Families can buy a book, listen to a sharing session, browse for creative crafts, exchange a book with their child, and take a stroll along the river.
The book fair experience doesn't have to be confined to exhibition halls; it can also be a night outing, a leisurely walk, or a relaxing family time after dinner.
Book shopping, reading shares, cultural product hunting, and leisure entertainment can all be connected here, forming a one-stop night tour experience.
This aspect gives the Ningbo branch venue its distinctive urban character.
It doesn't confine reading to a fixed space but brings books to different corners of city life, allowing the love of literature to naturally meet with neighborhoods, river views, night markets, and family time.
Reading Classics Together is Discovering a City Together
"I Read Classics with My Child" represents a tangible lifestyle.
Accompanying a child in reading is more than just handing them a book.
It's about adults being willing to sit down and enter a story with their child.
It's about a family choosing to dedicate time to reading.
It's also about a city creating more opportunities for children to access good books, culture, and public spaces.
From the Ningbo Book Culture Park to Tianyi Pavilion, from 11 city and county children's libraries to numerous distinctive bookstores, Ningbo is using its "1+1+11+N" city-wide reading network to expand reading from a single point into an interconnected web.
This web links libraries, bookstores, cultural parks, and urban landmarks, as well as children, families, and the city itself.
From July 24th to 27th, if you're planning a special summer outing for your child, consider a visit to the Ningbo Book Culture Park.
There, a child might discover a beloved book, meet a familiar book character, participate in a fun reading activity, or perhaps, in the riverside evening breeze, think for the first time: "So reading can be this much fun."