The 2021 South China Book Festival offered exhibitions and sales, lectures, creative cultural products, and family activities last weekend denoting "Hundred Years of Struggle and a New Journey" and "Reading Lights the Way Forward."

A themed exhibition zone opened Sept 24 at Zhuhai Museum & Planning Exhibition Hall, the main venue at the Lovers Avenue-Haihong Road intersection. The display celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Works on revolutionary and local culture displayed the history of the CPC and Zhuhai Special Economic Zone. Visitors took photos with a 100-shaped display composed of books.

Display formed by books at Zhuhai Museum & Planning Exhibition Hall [Photo by Zhong Fan & Zhu Xi / Guanhai App]

A Story Box picture book exhibition hosted by Zhuhai Artistic Life Space and Kid's Republic Picture Book Store was popular as families took part in parent-child reading, clay-making, and handicraft activities.

Plaques were conferred by the Zhuhai Press & Publication Bureau for this year's seven Most Beautiful Bookstores in Zhuhai the same day. Representatives Xinhua, Readzone, Coast Books, and Doumen Xiti bookstores set up thematic exhibition areas at the main venue to show the most beautiful reading scenes with photos and videos.

The original theme song "Chinese Characters" for the festival's Zhuhai Xinhua Bookstore sublocation and an anthology of native writers were released. Caricaturist Jin Cheng shared the development history of Chinese comics and brought more than 20 works themed on reading for exhibition. Other sub-venues were the Readzone, Coast Books, and Doumen Xiti bookstores.

A reading sharing session by the Zhuhai Sun Yat-sen University Alumni Association, Cantonese Opera & Operatic Songs competition for Zhuhai-Hong Kong-Macao middle and primary school students, Zhuhai-Macao youth recital finals, Yang Pao-an picture book activity, writer-economist Xu Deyou sharing salon, and scroll graffiti activity were held Sept 25.

The event was organized by Zhuhai Media Group, sponsored by publicity departments of the CPC Zhuhai Municipal and Guangdong Provincial committees, and supported by the Zhuhai Education Bureau.