Shanghai Book Fair kicks-off, focusing on sci-fi literature

Good news for bookworms, especially science fiction lovers, the week-long Shanghai Book Fair kicked-off on Wednesday at the local exhibition center with a theme of “love reading, love life."

This year's event focuses on literature of science fiction with a group of both domestic and foreign scholars. Writers will join the opening forum called “Map and Territory: The World of Science Fiction”.

“The mystery of China is an important component to the sci-fi literature,” said Argentine writer Martín Caparrós who also read a paragraph of Jorge Luis Borges’s novel to express his idea.

According to Ye Xin, vice-chairman of China Writers Association, there is still a long way to provide qualified works and create characters and stories that are acceptable across the country.

Classical Chinese literature from ancient times such as Liaozhai Zhiyi and Journey to the West, which later on inspired different film adaptations have seldom been transcended till now in the world of literature.

What's also notable is that more people are turning back to the print media and reading "real" books, according to the city's annual reading report released earlier this month.

Over 500 publishing houses have brought 150,000 books to the fair for readers to browse and purchase. Popular writers, poets, playwrights and critics have gathered together to share new thoughts on novels and writing.