New chapter in spiritual life and civilized society

Shanxi province promotes reading among the people as a way to nourish mind and soul

Reading can build bridges between life and history, improve the spiritual wellbeing of individuals and pave the way for future development, many people said on National Reading Day, which was celebrated on April 23 this year.

National Reading Day also took place concurrently with World Book and Copyright Day.

At the opening ceremony of the event in Jincheng city, Shanxi province, local cultural officials said that while enhancing the spiritual life of the people, reading can help to develop a culturally strong province and build a civilized society.

The promotion of reading among the public has been referred to in the Government Work Report for 13 consecutive years.

A national regulation on promoting reading among the public took effect on Feb 1, designating the fourth week of April as the Week of Reading Among the Public.

As reading has been a popular activity in Shanxi, the province launched a large-scale reading campaign, with a duration longer than the national reading week.

A core part of the campaign, the 2026 Shanxi Conference for Promoting Reading among the Public, opened on April 16 in Jincheng city. A range of activities, including exchanges among readers, recitals of poems and classics, as well as forums and seminars, were held throughout the North China province, during a nine-day period ending on April 24.

Jincheng's Longma Lake Park was the main venue of the event. A series of dramas adapted from textbook stories attracted the participation from local students.

Duan Beichen, a third-grade student, said: "With so many sought-after books on display and so many dramas on show here, the experience is both fun and inspirational."

'People's writer'

The Longma Lake Park event also featured Shanxi writer Zhao Shuli (1906-70), who was renowned throughout the country as a "people's writer". His novels depict rural life in Shanxi and the rest of China. Books written by Zhao and those winning the Zhao Shuli Prizes for Literature over the past decades were exhibited at the park.

As this year marks the 120th anniversary of Zhao's birth, an event to commemorate the writer was held in Yuchi village in Jincheng's Qinshui county, the birthplace of Zhao. An event to promote reading among rural children was part of this celebration.

"In the novels written by Zhao, there had been a constant concern about literacy improvement and knowledge accessibility among rural residents, especially the children," said a local teacher. "Here we are offered an opportunity to share Zhao's works and stories with our students, hoping the tradition of reading and learning advocated by Zhao can be passed on to our future generations."

At the Yuchi village event, a number of writers and literature researchers gave lectures on reading to local students, while businesspeople donated books to schools.

While campaigns create a temporary platform to raise residents' interest in and enthusiasm for reading, a great number of cultural establishments scattered throughout the province are offering permanent venues for people to read and learn.

One of these is the Wenying Urban Reading Room located in Wenying Park in Taiyuan, the provincial capital city of Shanxi.

Standing by a lake, the reading room has a collection of about 15,000 books, covering a wide range of fields including literature, history, art, science and technology.

A quiet place

After work or during weekends, many local residents frequently come to this place to read. "This is a quiet place, which can help you concentrate on reading," said a visitor."When you feel tired of reading, the lake view featuring lucent water and lush trees on the banks can definitely help you relax your eyes."

Inside the reading room, there is a dedicated wall for readers to write their thoughts and insights on reading and offer words of encouragement to others. "This is an expression of care, which represents an active force helping people move ahead," said the visitor.

Located by the Fenhe River, Taiyuan Library not only boasts a full range of collections — from social to natural sciences, and ancient literature to modern books — but also has services catering to various age groups.

For instance, it has a section dedicated to young readers ranging from kindergarteners to middle school students. The section has classified its collections according to not only subjects, but also readers' ages.

For younger children, the reading room is decorated with colors and furniture that can easily draw their interest. There are also dedicated teachers to guide their reading.

Another highlight of the library is that it has established a workshop on Marxism, catering to readers interested in such studies. The workshop has 22,000 copies of books, including classics in various languages and research works on Marxism.

In cooperation with grassroots public institutions, Taiyuan Library has established more than 50 Marxism workshops in communities throughout the city, arousing public interest in such studies.

Through the use of digital technologies, Taiyuan Library has an online library system, allowing readers throughout the province to access its resources. And there are also online workshops for readers to share their reading experiences and insights.

Grassroots facilities

Even more popular among readers are the grassroots cultural facilities, with some scattered along the booming commercial streets.

The Bell Tower Academy is one such facility. Combining the functions of a library, bookstore and research academy, this place is mostly frequented by tourists because it offers comprehensive reading materials about the history, culture and life in Shanxi.

"When you arrive in Taiyuan, the first leg of your Shanxi tour, getting familiar with the basic information about this culture-rich province is the homework you need to do," said a visitor to the Bell Tower Academy.

Combining reading with tourism is an innovative practice in Shanxi. On Oct 18, 2024, the transport authorities in Shanxi announced the operation of three sightseeing highways that link 5,630 villages in 113 counties, districts and cities in the province.

As a result, an increasing number of tourists have flocked to these destinations over the past two years. Upon arrival, tourists discover that many villages have reading facilities dedicated to tourism, a feature that can seldom be found in other parts of the country.

Yang Kexin, a schoolgirl from Xinxiang city, Henan province, recently visited destinations at the heart of the Taihang Mountains in Jincheng's Lingchuan county, along with her parents.

In Zheshui village, what instantly attracted the girl's attention was a rustic, yet uniquely designed library standing near the entrance of a destination.

Yang found that this was a simple house with shale walls. Inside the house, there were stone tables and stools surrounded by bookshelves along the walls.

"My first impression is that here we are brought back to the Paleolithic Age," Yang said, adding that reading in such an environment is quite a novel experience.

The girl said novelty is not the only thing she cares about. "There are books with information and stories of our planned destinations, which are helpful for our travel."

She mentioned the ancient Chinese proverb, "traveling thousands of miles and reading thousands of books", saying that "the combination of reading and travel — or practice — is the best way to gain knowledge of the world".

"And here is an example of combining reading with practice," she said.

The rural libraries are beneficial not only to tourists, but to local residents as well.

In Jincheng city, every administrative village has at least one library, with total collections amounting to more than 3 million copies.

"In Jincheng, we are engaging more than 1 million rural residents in reading," said a local official. "In the rural libraries, they can find knowledge useful for farming and they can read for fun. This is something that can broaden their horizons and make life meaningful."

Zhang Qi contributed to this story.