On October 10, the Information Office of the Provincial Government held a press conference for the 2026 Tianfu Book Fair. With the annual theme "Book Fragrance Sweeps Tianfu, Reading Benefits Thousands of Households", the book fair will be held at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center from October 16 to 19. It will feature one main offline venue, two main online venues and multiple sub-venues in various locations.

The book fair will bring together more than 200 publishing institutions and display over 37,000 book titles. China Publishing Group and Zhongyuan Publishing & Media Group will take part as the Permanent Guest of Honor Group and the Annual Guest of Honor Group respectively, bringing a large selection of highquality books and distinctive cultural and creative products. The fair will create six themed reading zones supported by cultural and creative product sales, with an upgraded International Bookstore Exhibition Area. Over 140 wellknown writers including Mai Jia, Alai and Ma Ainong will attend for onsite interactions, and more than 800 cultural events will be hosted.

The book fair has put in place solid peoplebenefiting measures. It will issue RMB 5 million in peoplebenefiting consumption vouchers and carry out publicwelfare activities such as "Fulfill Tiny Reading Wishes" and "Boundless Sichuan Reading: Sichuan Provincial Library Covers Costs for Your New Book Borrowings". Implementing the Regulations on the Promotion of Nationwide Reading, this year’s book fair will present a grand cultural reading feast for the public.

What can a book fair bring to readers?

It delivers fine books from major publishing houses across the country, limitededition cultural and creative products exclusively developed for Chengdu, onsite dialogues with celebrated writers such as Mai Jia and Alai, and tangible peoplebenefiting benefits. On October 10, the Information Office of the Provincial Government convened the press conference for the 2026 Tianfu Book Fair. From October 16 to 19, the 2026 Tianfu Book Fair will open in Chengdu, with a 22,000squaremeter exhibition hall accessible to readers of all age groups.

This year marks the first year for the implementation of the Regulations on the Promotion of Nationwide Reading. Upholding its permanent theme "Love Reading, Live Fully", the Tianfu Book Fair has built a multidimensional exhibition structure consisting of a main offline venue, two major online platforms and multiple sub-venues. Online services will be available through Wenxuan September and Xinhua Winxuan Cloud Store. Sub-venues are set up in Zigong, Guangyuan, Nanchong and Yibin. Publishing forces from all sides converge in Rongcheng, namely Chengdu, offering a full range of reading materials covering thematic publications, literature and social sciences, children’s popular science and other categories.

Re-zoned Exhibition Zones, Upgraded Peoplebenefiting Initiatives Improve Visitor Experience

Breaking the conventional exhibition layout logic, this book fair designs spaces from readers’ perspective. Six themed zones including the Children’s Reading Fun Zone, GenZ Trendy Reading Zone and Senior Reading Enjoyment Zone are established to meet the reading needs of readers of different ages and interests. The Bashu Culture Bookstore Zone, DigitalIntelligent Integration Zone and Cultural and Creative Products Sales Zone will make their appearance alongside an upgraded International Bookstore Exhibition Area.

Venue services keep getting improved. Convenient services including luggage storage, book courier and selfservice beverage facilities are all available. A motherbaby room will make its first appearance at the exhibition venue. In addition to provincial peoplebenefiting consumption vouchers, the book fair has launched the innovative program "Boundless Sichuan Reading: Sichuan Provincial Library Covers Costs for Your New Book Borrowings", enabling onsite borrowing of newly released books at the venue. Publicwelfare projects such as "Fulfill Tiny Reading Wishes" and "Tianfu BookFragrance Peoplebenefiting Month" will also be carried out to deliver real reading benefits to the public.

Rich and diverse cultural events constitute a major highlight of the book fair. Book sharing sessions and facetoface events with renowned figures will be held one after another. Writers and translators including Mai Jia, Alai, Li Jingze, Xu Zechen, Ma Ainong, Bei Mao, Liu Liang and Uncle Tank will come to the venue to communicate with readers. Highlevel industry forums such as the 15th Tao Fen Publishing Talent Development Forum and the inaugural Authors Conference will also kick off.

Cultural and Creative Products Take Center Stage at Press Conference, Publishing IPs Show New Creativity

As the Permanent Guest of Honor Group for the Tianfu Book Fair, China Publishing Group went viral last year with its cultural and creative product "Lu Xun’s Sweater". At this press conference, Zang Yongqing, Director of China Publishing Media Co., Ltd., displayed a batch of brandnew cultural and creative samples for media preview. "We will continue to dig deep into classic IP resources," he said.

At the book fair, cultural and creative series including "Literary Satchel — Chengdu Limited Edition", "Nang Pouch", "Chinese Observation" and "LaoZhuangSunZi" will be presented to readers. A special cultural zone for Dege County will open simultaneously to showcase Khampa intangible cultural heritage cultural and creative works.

The Annual Guest of Honor Group of this book fair is Zhongyuan Publishing & Media Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. Lin Jiangyan, General Manager of the group, took the stage to promote its physical cultural and creative products. On display are the "Encounter Cultural Relics of Henan" series, Ruware and Junware ornaments, as well as youthoriented DIY paper models "Treasure Henan". The group brings important publications such as "Su Dongpo’s Life Geography" and "Complete Notes of the Song Dynasty". The Heluo Cultural Large Model draws particular attention. "Visitors can experience AIpowered cultural relic interpretation and AI creation on site, and enjoy new reading experiences that combine traditional culture with artificial intelligence." Interactive activities such as newbook sharing and intangible cultural heritage handicraft workshops will also be arranged in its exhibition area.

Book Fragrance Goes beyond Exhibition Halls, Reading Reaches Every Corner of the City

In the digitalintelligent era, screenbased reading has become a common way for the public to acquire information. Where does paperbased reading fit in? Zhou Qing, Chairman of Sichuan Xinhua Publishing and Distribution Group Co., Ltd., shared his thoughts at the press conference.

"The internet has completely transformed our lives, and people are accustomed to getting information online. Nevertheless, we should recognize that paper books serve as an important carrier for preserving and disseminating fine traditional Chinese culture. They shoulder social responsibilities to inherit civilizations, guide public thinking and shape values," Zhou Qing stated. Guided by this idea, this year’s book fair caters to diversified reading scenarios. It features heavyweight classic book collections as well as affordable and portable "TenYuan Library" titles. Local featured bookstores including Panda Bookstore, Zhuangyuan Bookstore and Museum Bookstore have set up physical booths on site. Special events such as "Senior Storytellers" and "Dimension Reading Room" will also be available for readers.

Centered on the book fair, nearly 100 supporting reading events will be held across Chengdu in October, extending reading scenarios to campuses, workshops and rural fields. Uncle Tank, a children’s literature writer, commented that quality books paired with facetoface communication with authors can safeguard rural children’s reading dreams and bring highquality reading resources to rural areas.