A visitor takes a look at classical works to mark the Party's centennial at the Beijing Book Fair on May 14. The 30th National Book Expo to be held in Jinan from July 15-19 will feature a similar section.[Photo provided to China Daily]

National expo is back bigger and better, promising more titles and new publishing technology, Mei Jia reports.

With its Confucian legacy, symbolic significance of the majestic Taishan Mountain and the Yellow River culture, Shandong province will be the host of an annual national book event in July.

The 30th National Book Expo will be held from July 15-19 with the province's capital city Jinan as the main site. It will also be held in two other cities, Yantai and Tai'an. Its organizers say the expo will be an opportunity to exhibit more new book titles, the latest publishing products and technology, and to also showcase the charm of the province's cultural elements.

Moreover, Yu Jie, director of the Shandong provincial publicity department, says the centenary of the Communist Party of China's founding will be a special focus of the expo.

Like previous book expos, the Shandong expo will fuel the anticipation of readers with a number of publishing forums, book launches, writer meet-and-greets, and free reading vouchers.

At the main site in Jinan International Convention and Exhibition Center, the expo will span eight exhibition halls covering 10 themes. A total of 1,400 publishing companies from all over the country will bring in about 400,000 titles and cultural products.

Visitors select children's books printed with biodegradable materials at a previous Beijing international book fair.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Wang Guiying, vice-mayor of Jinan, says the city has been busy making preparations for the expo, and the government will offer free book vouchers worth 5 million yuan ($778,000) to the city's booklovers to encourage them to purchase books and other relevant products.

Wang says the expo will feature more than 600 events including 10 key forums deemed as the expo's traditional gathering, 100 book launches and writers events, and more than 500 cultural events with a local touch. The writers events will feature Shandong writers including the novelist and poet Zhang Wei, and history writer and lecturer Yan Chongnian.

"We'll also present an exhibition of 100 Red Classics Throughout a Century to mark the big day of the Party's centennial," Wang adds.

As this is the city's second time hosting the national book expo - the first being in 2009, the organizers say they would present a contemporary expo capable of attracting readers from varied age groups.

In light of challenges in an ongoing pandemic, the expo will also go digital for the first time.