Frankfurt Book Fair helps Chinese culture journey west
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The Frankfurt Book Fair 2009, which opened on October 13, would help acquaint more people worldwide with China and its culture, some experts said.
As the Guest of Honor at the fair for the first time, China has set a new record by sending an impressive delegation of more than 100 writers, 300 actors and actress as well as some 700 publishers and traders.
The theme of China's presentation is "Tradition and Innovation," featuring 612 events. Among the events is an opening performance by the world-renowned pianist Lang Lang.
"China being the Guest of Honor has provided a golden opportunity for the German public to get to know China and its culture," said Dr. Kyro Dreher with the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.
"The book fair will present a diversified China with hundred faces. It opens a door to the West that Chinese culture is beyond calligraphy and Chinese ink," Liang Yong, director of the Confucius Institute in Trier, Germany, believed.
"Face-to-face communication at the book fair will broaden contacts of people and our understanding. Only when we throw away our prejudices, can we get to know each other better," said Stefan Kramer, a Sinologue at the University of Leipzig.
Liu Binjie, director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, called books the eternal memory of human beings and carriers of different cultures. Liu also said books were a short-cut for progress as well as bridges between different countries and different civilizations.
He noted that by participating in the events organized by China during the book fair, visitors from all over the world would have the unique opportunity to get to know and understand China.
The Frankfurt Book Fair 2009, which concludes on Oct. 18, is the world's largest and most important. The fair is a venue for over 7,300 publishers and traders from more than 100 countries and regions, and is estimated to attract some 300,000 visitors this year.
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