World of characters

He compares having a museum with writing a literary work as both are driven by the desire to preserve the past. He says museums act also as "atriums and forums of humanity".

He calls for future museums to pay more attention to individual vision of life and things－the psychological aspects of the story－rather than focusing on the nations or politics.

Wang says she was touched by a visit to the author and the museum in 2019, so she initiated the online tour. She always remembers the author's kind, persistent and rambling narration in the novel.

"One may find it demotic compared to Pamuk's other works, but the love story brings him more readers. It's very important to open a book and read," she says.

She keeps in touch with Idil Deniz Ergun, director of the museum, since the 2019 visit and the duo planned to launch the online tour during the Chinese publication of The Innocence of Objects last year, but it was suspended. Around two months ago, they resumed the preparation.

"At this epidemic moment, the author's gentleness and patience brings us comfort," Wang says.

According to Wang, the publisher is working on a Chinese version of Pamuk's latest work, Nights of Plague, a historical fiction set in 1901, published in Turkey in March 2021.