Shanghai Book Fair

From August 13 to 19, 2025, the 21st Shanghai Book Fair and “Book-Scented China” Shanghai Week were successfully held. With the theme “I Love Reading, I Love Life,” this year’s fair innovatively adopted a dual‑venue model—featuring both the Shanghai Exhibition Center and Shanghai Book City—as its main venues. The event extended across 16 district sub‑venues, 100 physical bookstores, and 46 New Era Civilization Practice sites, spanning a total exhibition area of 42,000 square meters. Operating for an unprecedented 12 hours per day over seven days, it delivered a high‑density program of book sales and reading‑related activities.

Record‑breaking scale and attendance. The fair welcomed over 382,000 visitors, up 28.4% year over year; total book sales reached RMB 64.727 million, a 31.6% increase; cultural and creative product revenues totaled RMB 10.17 million, up 100.1%; and 1,267 reading events were hosted citywide, a 23.8% rise. Visitors from other provinces and municipalities accounted for 25%, highlighting the significant spillover effects of integrated cultural, tourism, commercial, and exhibition initiatives.

A showcase of premium titles, with numerous premieres and highlights. The fair attracted 371 publishing houses nationwide, presenting 160,000 book titles. The Chinese Publishing Group’s newly revised edition of the Twenty-Four Histories, specifically the “Southern History,” drew enthusiastic crowds at its launch signing event, while the deputy editor-in-chief of Zhonghua Book Company and a professor from Capital Normal University shared their insights on reading on site. Hunan Province, as the guest province, unveiled heavyweight new releases such as “Mao Zedong’s Writings” and “Why Hanfu: Rediscovering the Costumes of the Mawangdui Han Tombs.” Additionally, the “War Crimes Documentation Database” and the documentary “Judgment of Justice” were launched, and the event “Xiang–Shanghai Collaboration: Inheriting Cultural Heritage—Promotion of High-Quality Publications by Central South Media and Partner Signing Ceremony” further advanced the deep integration of publishing resources.

A vibrant children’s book carnival, with parent–child reading taking center stage. The Shanghai International Children’s Book Carnival (Children’s Theme Pavilion) brought together more than 80 renowned national children’s publishers and over 10,000 high-quality domestic and international titles. Dozens of acclaimed children’s authors—including Shen Shixi, Qin Wenjun, Yang Hongying, Balu, and Wang Yimei—engaged in close‑up interactions with young readers. The East China Six Provinces Children’s Publishing Consortium, the China Children’s Book Alliance, CITIC Children’s Books, Aixinshu, and Xinyi Picture Books all showcased their offerings through specially designed thematic zones.

The inaugural “Yuejie Night Market” sparked widespread excitement, with notable economic impacts. Every evening at 5:30 , the “Yuejie Night Market” opened promptly on the outdoor plaza of the Shanghai Exhibition Center, drawing large numbers of residents and tourists with handmade cultural products, light refreshments, and nostalgic childhood games. For the first time, public‑benefit reading vouchers were distributed, achieving an almost 100% redemption rate. A “Cultural Flavor Map of the Book Fair” linked nearby cultural landmarks, sports and leisure venues, and traditional eateries. According to big‑data monitoring, the dual‑venue program directly stimulated approximately RMB 181 million in spending across catering, retail, accommodation, transportation, and other services.

Elements of Yangtze River Delta integration shone brightly, with brand‑driven initiatives continuously upgraded. For the first time, a dedicated “Yangtze River Delta Brand Physical Bookstore Zone” was established, bringing together 20 bookstores from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui. The “Yangtze River Delta Local Records Culture Week” made its debut at the Shanghai Book Fair. A sub‑venue was also set up in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, achieving a profound fusion of Shanghai’s urban grandeur and Wuzhen’s quaint charm. The “Old Books, New Knowledge” National Invitational Exhibition featured the full lineup of eight pilot provinces designated by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, while the Shanghai Book Fair’s Knowledge Blogger Conference promoted the supply of high‑quality online content.

Digital reading scenarios reinvented, with AI technologies empowering traditional culture. Century Publishing Group’s Digital Publishing Pavilion unveiled the “Shanggu Huidian·Wenyuan Pavilion Siku Quanshu AI+ Edition,” effectively lowering barriers to accessing ancient texts. The FanShu app zone transformed into an immersive, touch‑enabled “home library,” where readers can scan QR codes to listen to audiobooks at any time. Meanwhile, Yuwen celebrated its tenth anniversary with a series of engaging IP‑themed exhibitions, including “Let Good Stories Live On” and the seven‑day “Homage to Masters” lecture series.

Citywide collaboration blossomed, with the spirit of reading deeply embedded in the community. The “New Discoveries Science Booklist” graced a Huangpu River cruise ship; the nation’s first science‑comic themed around go‑karts debuted in Jiading District; Xujiahui Library partnered with the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema to host the “Night of Seeking Light” carnival; the “Celebrity Island Tour” ventured to Chongming; Hu Guang Village in Songjiang initiated a “Family Tradition Reading Sharing Session”; and Fengxian organized the “I Am a Reading Advocate: Family Parent–Child Reading Competition.”