On the morning of April 14, the Beijing Book Fair 2023 (referred to as the "Book Fair" hereafter) kicked off with a grand opening ceremony held in Chaoyang Park. Zhao Weidong, Executive Deputy Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, officially declaring the commencement of the Book Fair along with the other esteemed guests at Chaoyang Park. Over the course of 11 days, the Book Fair will be brimming with engaging cultural activities centered around the joy of reading, aiming to transform Beijing into a vibrant "city of books" and to vigorously promote reading among the public.

During the opening ceremony of the Book Fair, an exciting series of evaluation activities were initiated to select the "Most Beautiful Bookstores and Best Bookstore Managers (Owners)". These evaluations seek to identify and honor the city's top 20 most beautiful bookstores with outstanding services and distinctive characteristics and the ten best bookstore managers (owners) with outstanding performance and social recognition.

The main venue of the Book Fair this year is Chaoyang Park. Meanwhile, the Book Fair is also held at the sub-venues throughout the 16 districts of Beijing and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. Other sub-venues include four book malls, such as Beijing Book Building, and three online platforms, including JD.com. A total of eight major themed areas have been set up for the main venue, based on the themes of books and reading culture, including a themed publication area, a quality publication area, a street of brick-and-mortar bookstores, an antique book area, a discounted book area, a reading activity area, the Springtime Reading Camp, and a reading plaza for children. The sub-venues, i.e., the chosen brick-and-mortar bookstores in the 16 districts of Beijing and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, are launching activities together with the themed areas of the main venues. The online sub-venues, meanwhile, have opened several purchase channels, including live commerce shows, and invited anchors to recommend books during live-streaming sessions.

Throughout the 11 days of the Book Fair, themed days will be organized on a daily basis, offering a diverse range of activities and events. Citizens can refer to the event schedule and visit the designated venues to participate in the themed days of their choice.

Themed "Beijing, the City of Books — Reading Pleasure in Spring",  the Beijing Book Fair 2023 is hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, organized by Beijing Publications Distribution Group Co., Ltd., and co-organized by the Chaoyang District People's Government of Beijing Municipality, the Publicity Departments of the district committees of the Communist Party of China in 16 districts of Beijing, and the Publicity Department of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Committee of the Communist Party of China.

(Source: Official WeChat account of the Information Office of Beijing Municipality)