Beijing Publishing Group Makes its Mark at Paris Book Festival, Showcasing the Charm of Chinese Culture

The 2024 Paris Book Festival opened on April 12 at the temporary exhibition hall of the Grand Palais in Paris. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism， with 59 Chinese publishing houses exhibiting 1，150 titles. Zhang Aijun， party secretary and chairman of Beijing Publishing Group， led the delegation.

Beijing Publishing Group actively showcased excellent books at the event， effectively telling China’s story.

With the theme of telling Beijing and China’s stories， Beijing Publishing Group carefully selected over 60 titles in themes such as literature， humanities， social sciences， science， children’s books， and language learning， offering a feast of Chinese culture to international readers. At the booth， books like I Love Beijing， Trendy Beijing， and Exploring Beijing’s Central Axis displayed the capital’s contemporary style， ancient charm， and modern spirit from multiple angles; “Treasured Waters，” “Northward，” “Cloud Chronicles，” “The Peace Batch，” among others， have won awards such as the Mao Dun Literature Award， the “Five Ones” Project Award， and the Chinese Publication Government Award. They tell compelling stories of contemporary China. Everyone’s Little Books and The Art of Chinese Afforestation vividly presented the spiritual qualities and unique charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture. Cultural and creative products such as the Three Treasures Monkey， shadow zodiac figures， and rattle drums were particularly popular with the audience.

Treasured Waters， Jerusalem， By the Ana River， Gold Market， Vulgar Land， Trendy Beijing， In Search of the Chinese Dragon， and Chinese Traditional Festivals were prominently displayed at themed specialty， French edition， comic， and other specialty booths in the core Chinese section， showcasing a credible， lovable， and respectable image of China and drawing numerous readers.

Chic Beijing was released in five foreign languages， building a bridge of culture.

On the afternoon of April 12， local time， Beijing Publishing Group held a new book launch event for the English， French， Spanish， Russian， and Arabic editions of Chic Beijing at the Chinese pavilion activity area， attended by over ten domestic and foreign publishing organizations. Zhang Aijun delivered a speech at the launch event and， together with Tian Xueping， secretary of the CPC Committee and director of the Central Publicity Department’s Office Service Center， Li Chunsheng， vice president of People’s Publishing House， and Mélodie Landrot， general manager of Phoenix Bookstore in France， unveiled the new book. Hu Kaimin， president of the Foreign Languages Publishing House， Yu Junsheng， deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Municipal Committee， vice minister of the Beijing Municipal Publicity Department， director of the Beijing Municipal Government Information Office， party secretary and director of Beijing Radio amp; Television， and other dignitaries congratulated the new book release via video. The simultaneous release of the book in five languages was a first in the group’s history. After the release， the new editions， especially the French edition， were highly sought after by overseas readers， particularly those in France.

Zhang Aijun commented that launching the Chic Beijing book in English， French， Spanish， Russian， and Arabic at the Paris Book Festival was a special gift to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France， and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism. Modern Beijing， where the ancient and the modern intersect and the local and international blend， continually bursts with new vitality and energy. As a comprehensive publishing entity and key cultural institution， Beijing Publishing Group is committed to building cultural bridges through publishing excellent books， enabling overseas readers to better appreciate and understand Beijing and China.

The copyright cooperation for the French edition of Treasured Waters was finalized， focusing on showcasing the charm of rural life.

On the afternoon of April 12， local time， at the Chinese pavilion activity area， the group， France’s You Feng Bookstore， and Qiao Ye， the author of Treasured Waters， jointly signed the copyright cooperation agreement for the French edition of Treasured Waters. Zhang Aijun， Tian Xueping， and Li Chunsheng were present and witnessed the signing. Qiao Ye shared insights into the creation of the novel and signed books for the audience.

The novel Treasured Waters is a literary portrayal of rural China’s modernization， vividly narrating contemporary rural life across spring， summer， autumn， and winter. In 2023， the book was awarded the Eleventh Mao Dun Literature Award. This French edition agreement marks another collaboration between the group and France’s You Feng Publishing House following previous partnerships on books such as In the Name of the People and The Beijing Ancient Architectural Culture Series: Altars and Temples， also pioneering the publication of modern rural Chinese themes in France.

You Feng Publishing House (Editions You Feng)， established in 1984， is home to the largest Chinese book and publication retailer in France and one of the largest in Europe.

The Paris Book Festival， originally known as the Paris Book Fair， was founded by the French National Publishing Association in 1981 and is held every spring. Renamed the Paris Book Festival in 2022， it transitioned from a professional exhibition to a public interactive event. Beijing Publishing Group sees its participation in the Paris Book Festival as an opportunity to continue sharing Chinese and Beijing stories worldwide， presenting a true， multi-dimensional， and comprehensive image of China and contributing more to enhancing international communication capabilities and promoting mutual cultural exchange and understanding.