China News Service, Hong Kong, July 14 (Reporter Han Xingtong) The 31st Hong Kong Book Fair hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) officially opened on the 14th at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

Some exhibitors told a reporter from China News Agency that the number of people who came to the book fair on the first day was much better than expected, which was encouraged.

The 31st Hong Kong Book Fair hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from July 14th to 20th.

Photo by Li Zhihua

　　The Hong Kong Book Fair, regarded as the annual cultural feast, finally appeared after two postponements due to the epidemic.

The annual theme of this year's book fair is "Spiritual Inspiration", together with the "Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo" and the newly launched "Snack World", which attracted more than 760 exhibitors.

　　At about 10 o'clock in the morning, the line waiting for admission outside the convention and exhibition center was already several tens of meters long. The staff was on the spot to direct the diversion, and many citizens came to buy books with suitcases and small trailers.

　　Entering the exhibition hall, the booth of the Zhonghua Book Company was very eye-catching, with a slogan "Promoting Chinese Culture and Constructing Modern Civilization" written in its ancient design. The people lined up at the payment counter almost circled the booth.

　　The company’s manager Yu Huanjun told reporters that this year’s booth was designed to fit the theme of "spiritual inspiration", with a special gift book area and some beautifully packaged books for readers to give to friends. "We hope that in the epidemic, everyone can do more. Caring for the people around you and pass on more positive energy."

　　“The book fair is a big book sales platform and opportunity for us.” However, last year’s book fair was not held as scheduled due to the severe epidemic. Yu Huanjun said frankly that this had a greater impact on exhibitors. “We have a lot of new books. It's already printed." From another perspective, it can also be regarded as a good thing-the books published last year and this year can be displayed together at the book fair, making the book more diverse.

　　Observing the flow of people on the first day, Yu Huanjun believes that the situation is similar to previous years, and she hopes that this year's turnover will be the same as that of the 2019 Book Fair.

　　Yu Keling, director, deputy general manager and deputy editor-in-chief of the Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. also believes that the flow of people to the book fair on the first day is better than expected, which is encouraged.

　　The booth of the Commercial Press has set up a set of VR games "Three Kingdoms Fax" for readers to experience.

Yu Keling introduced that the Commercial Press specially launched mobile games and card games with Chinese history themes, hoping to attract young people to pay attention to Chinese traditional culture by combining books with high-tech.

At the same time, the Commercial Press also developed a mobile app for the "New Dictionary of Business", adding more examples of Chinese history and contemporary national conditions in the dictionary explanation.

　　The citizen Mr. Xu and his wife came together, and both of them turned their heads down intently.

He told reporters that he would come to the book fair every year in the past, "it provides a very convenient channel and platform for the public to buy books." He loves to read computer-related books on weekdays, and his wife loves to read recipes. This year he prepared 2,000 yuan (Hong Kong dollars, The same below) purchase books.

　　The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam, attended the opening ceremony and said that the Hong Kong Book Fair had become an iconic cultural exchange platform in Hong Kong. She was very encouraged by this.

　　She said that in order to support the industry's participation in the book fair, the SAR government set aside 40 million yuan under the second round of the "epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic fund" last year to launch the printing and publishing industry subsidy program. The subsidy should be sufficient to cover about 80% of exhibitors' participation fees.

In addition, the SAR government allocated another 10 million yuan under the "Epidemic Prevention and Anti-epidemic Fund" in April this year to provide a one-time, 15,000 yuan financial support for each local exhibitor who had originally registered to participate. About 570 local exhibitors Benefit.

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