On April 22, the eve of World Book Day, the 1st Jiangsu College Students’ Reading Culture Festival and Book Review Competition was launched at Xianlin. Jiang Yong, Secretary of the CPC Provincial Education Department Committee, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Other attendees included Han Miao, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Communist Youth League, Yang Shubing, Deputy Director of the Provincial Education Department, Ding Xiaochang, President of the Provincial Higher Education Association, and Yang Zhong, Executive Deputy Secretary of the CPC NJU Committee.

Jiang Yong pointed out in his speech that Chines culture has always been marked by its appreciation of learning and reading. The Jiangsu Education Department has implemented the “Enjoying Classics” Project (Jiangsu College Students’ Reading Action Plan), which aims to  promote nationwide reading, build a literary society, carry forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture, guide college students to develop good reading habits, and enhance their cultural heritage. 

Jiang Yong

Yang Zhong expressed his warm welcome and sincere gratitude to the guests in attendance. He pointed out that the launch of the Festival and Competition is both timely and significant. He hopes that the Jiangsu College Students’ Reading Action Plan will encourage young students in Jiangsu to approach both Chinese and foreign classic works, promote campus reading, drive nationwide reading, and contribute to the construction of a “bookish” Jiangsu and China. 

Yang Zhong

Guests jointly launched the Festival. Yang Shubing and Ding Xiaochang presented copies of literary classics to student representatives.

Mo Lifen, Senior Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences from NJU, gave an introduction to Selected Tang Poetry. Professors Wang Yao from Soochow University, Bi Feiyu from NJU, and He Ping from Nanjing Normal University held a roundtable discussion on the theme of “Classical Reading in the Digital Age”. Liang Luoqian, student representative from the School of Liberal Arts of NJU, shared her reading experience. Teachers and students from universities at Jiangsu expressed their love and understanding of reading through music, poetry, dance, online recitation and micro-videos.

Opening Ceremony

Presenting books to student representatives

Master Reading & Roundtable Forum

Student Performance

More than 500 officials and representatives from the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, Provincial Women’s Federation, Provincial Literary Federation, Provincial Writers Association, Provincial Federation of Social Sciences, as well as relevant officials from universities at Nanjing, attended the launching ceremony.

The scene of the event

The Reading Culture Festival is sponsored by the Jiangsu Education Department and co-sponsored by the Jiangsu Higher Education Society. It is organized by several universities, including Nanjing University, Southeast University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing Normal University, and Soochow University. The launching ceremony was broadcast live on the Internet, attracting over 60,000 viewers. The festival will last for six months and will feature a series of events, including weekly classic readings, book review competitions, sessions with experts, and a cloud-based reading event for millions of students, bringing a rich reading feast to college students throughout Jiangsu.

Translator: Carry Li

Editors: Chen Xing, Guo Ankang, He Yao