China takes center stage at Int'l Children's Book Fair in Italy

Named as the Guest of Honor, China has taken the stage at the 2018 Bologna Children's Book Fair running in the central Italian city this week.

With a pavilion stretching over 900 square meters, and participation of almost 100 publishers as well as some 5,000 titles of books, the Chinese presence was indeed the largest at the international event devoted to books and reading for childhood.

An image featuring a little girl and a panda reading, under the word "Dream", made the Chinese logo, evoking both the endless charm of children's literature and the bright energy of China's publishing industry today.

Exhibitions, debates, and cultural exchanges were planned at the fair and in various locations across the city, including the historic University of Bologna, the Confucius Institute, and the main public library.

They were engaging a Chinese delegation of 26 authors and 24 illustrators of children's books, including renowned writer Cao Wenxuan -- who was conferred the Hans Christian Andersen Award by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in 2016 -- and illustrator Xiong Liang (shortlisted for the same prize this year).

In fact, China-promoted events would be "the biggest-scale foreign exchange activities in children's publishing that the country has ever undertaken overseas," according to a statement.

Within the Chinese great area, a 300-square-meter area was being devoted to Chinese contemporary illustration art, showing some 150 books and works by 30 artists.

Yet, also the ancient art was represented, with the exhibition "The Charm of Books from the East" comprising 98 groups of 342 classical Chinese illustrations.

Over the remaining 600 square meters of China's pavilion were spread some 200 professionals from the nearly 100 Chinese publishers attending the event, whose aims would include "strengthening the trade in copy rights, translation, and publication."

The Bologna Children's Book Fair kicked off on Monday, and would run until March 29. This is its 55th edition. Over the 20,000 square meters, the Bologna Fiere Center hosts 1,390 exhibitors from 77 countries this year, which marked a 8.6 percent increase against last year's edition, according to organizers. In 2017, the event registered some 26,700 visitors.