Chongqing — On the evening of April 25, the 2026 Scholarly Chongqing National Reading Festival opened at Diamond Square in Liangjiang New Area, marking a major highlight of the city’s first National Reading Promotion Week.

On April 25, 2026, at the 2026 Scholarly Chongqing National Reading Festival held at Diamond Square in Liangjiang New Area. (Photo/Li Yuheng)

The festival, held under the theme “Let a City Fall in Love with Reading,” showcased Chongqing’s achievements in promoting nationwide reading in the first year of implementation of China’s Regulation to Promote Public Reading, which took effect on February 1, 2026. (Photo/Li Yuheng)

At the ceremony, three categories of exemplary reading initiatives were recognized: integrated reading, collaborative reading, and lifelong reading, with 10 best practices awarded in each category. Representatives of the winning projects shared their experiences.

One collaborative reading case, “The Little Orange Lamp on Gele Mountain,” inspired by renowned children’s author Bing Xin, highlights rural teachers as “lamp lighters,” illuminating children’s growth through reading. In the integrated reading category, “Audio Reading: Breaking into the Gen Z Reading Ecosystem” from Maoer FM, a voice-based content and project incubation platform popular among post-1995s, has expanded reading by transforming online literature into immersive audio works.

Integrated Reading Platform 2.0 Launched

As part of the “133N” national reading promotion system, the “Ant Book Finder” mini-program was updated to version 2.0 at the festival. Developed under the guidance of the Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and led by Chongqing Xinhua Publishing Group, the platform offers four core functions: Find Books, Find Events, Find Places, and Find People.

On April 25, 2026, at Diamond Square in Liangjiang New Area, the presentation of certificates for the Land-Sea Reads Collaborative Reading Ambassadors took place. (Photo/Li Yuheng)

According to Chongqing Xinhua Publishing Group, the “Find Books” feature provides personalized AI-powered reading recommendations and curated lists from over 100 publishers. “Find Events” allows users to browse and reserve tickets for more than 1,000 reading activities throughout the year. “Find Places” presents an interactive map of over 1,000 reading and cultural spaces across the city, including 508 Xixifeng bookstore outlets and more than 30 CITIC Press bookstore locations. “Find People” connects users with like-minded reading partners, with over 1,000 reading guides joining the platform this year.

Land-Sea Reads: Connecting Chongqing with the World

The city’s new publishing brand, "Land-Sea Reads," was officially launched at the ceremony. According to the event announcement, the brand is committed to harnessing the power of publishing and reading to foster mutual learning between land-sea civilizations and promote the interconnected development of land-sea economies.

On April 25, 2026, at Diamond Square in Liangjiang New Area, the Land-Sea Book Series promotion took place. (Photo/Li Yuheng)

Under this initiative, the “Land-Sea Reading and Lecture Hall” has gained recognition since its debut in December 2024. The lecture platform seeks to “help a city fall in love with reading,” building a bridge between experts, scholars, and the public through high-quality lectures. Additionally, the “Land-Sea Book Series,” produced in collaboration with Chongqing Publishing Group, CITIC Press Group, Chongqing University Press, and Southwest University Publishing Group, represents China’s first systematic exploration of land-sea civilizations.

Commitment to Advancing Scholarly Chongqing

Currently, Chongqing’s comprehensive reading rate has surpassed 90%, and nationwide reading continues to expand. As spring deepens, the city will steadily advance the construction of “Scholarly Chongqing,” further developing its distinctive “133N” national reading promotion system to achieve a universally accessible, inclusive, and efficient framework for nationwide reading.