"The Temple of Earth and Me" book fair, a side event of the 2024 Beijing Culture Forum, is currently taking place at Ditan Park in Beijing's Dongcheng district, Sept. 13, 2024. This year's book fair places a spotlight on vintage books. [Photo by Wang Ziteng/China.org.cn]

"The Temple of Earth and Me" book fair will kick off in Beijing's Ditan Park on Friday as part of the 2024 Beijing Culture Forum series of activities.

Named after the renowned essay by novelist Shi Tiesheng, the book fair will feature 10 exhibition zones, including a bookstore street, a creative cultural products zone, a children's books area and an original foreign-language books section.

The 10-day event will cover an exhibition area of about 18,000 square meters and up to 167 reading activities will be hosted.

On the evening of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival beginning Sept 17, a poetry recital will be held at the book fair, inviting readers to participate in poetry competitions such as relays. Mezzo-soprano singer Guan Mucun, along with many other artists, will perform live to create a poetic night with the attendees.

Additionally, an essay competition with the theme "The Temple of Earth and Me" will welcome young students to submit their work.

For the first time, the book fair will include a cultural and tourism promotion event where Taizhou of Zhejiang province will host a section showcasing its cultural elements through creative products, books and cuisine.

The 2024 Beijing Culture Forum is set to take place across various venues in the city from next Thursday to Saturday, welcoming over 800 guests from both domestic and international spheres, spanning politics, academia and more.

Key topics for discussion include East-West cultural exchanges, digital cultural tourism and the role of artificial intelligence.