“More than 3,000 reading events are expected to take place throughout the year,” said SIP Public Cultural Center, the organizer.

SIP Reading Season is an annual event initiated in SIP in 2011. It has thus far shown good effect in arousing local residents’ zest in reading and enriching their lives.

Participants of this reading season will enjoy better reader experiences than ever before, from optimized library services to well-designed reading spaces and activities.

There will be 100 publicity activities with ordinary people serving as narrators of stories and disseminators of books...[MORE]

At the fair, scenes of Prosperous Suzhou (Gusu Fanhua Tu), a painting scroll finished by Suzhou-native court painter Xu Yang of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1759, have been duplicated to reproduce the atmosphere of Suzhou in the mid-18th century.

Visitors can see people in ancient costumes working at the bookshop, drugstore, fan workshop, grain shop and teahouse, and those peddling agricultural products and making fishing net. They can also watch folk art performances, and try to arrange flowers and decorate the surface of a fan with their paintings.

There is even the “rainbow-shaped bridge”, an important element in the ancient painting, and the imitations of the scenes around the bridge.

Visitors can check the map at the entrance of the fair to ensure a better experience, and visit the “Cloud Fair” online to learn more about it. [MORE]