On April 23, the 30th World Book Day, the 2026 Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture Public Reading Campaign, along with the Yining City Public Reading Week, was launched in Yining City, Xinjiang. The event carried the theme "Fragrance of Books Along the Silk Road · Discovering Ili Through Reading."
The opening ceremony was structured into four segments: "Poetic and Picturesque Ili · A Literary Beginning," "Echoes of Ili · The Flow of Cultural Charm," "Uniting Through Culture · Building Dreams Together," and "A Community of Readers · Opening the Future." Performances included a large-scale situational recitation titled "Culture Nourishes the Heart · Books Perfume the Tianshan—Youth Walks with the Times," a scenario play named "Books Fill the Neighborhood," and a recitation of "Facing the Sea, with Spring Blossoms." These acts depicted vibrant scenes of civil-military integration, community reading, and the drive of young people.
Local author Zhang Xiyan, in an interview segment, joined Ma Jing, Director of the Ili Prefecture Library, and Fayiza Dilixiati, a student from Bayandai Town Central Primary School, to share their personal reading experiences. Zhang expressed her hope that everyone would integrate reading into their daily lives. Renowned author Wang Meng sent a video message to the event, encouraging people from all ethnic groups to read more and read good books.
Following the launch ceremony, the Six-Star Street scenic area in Yining City concurrently held a "Six-Star Reading Market" event to promote public reading. The market featured sections for book sales, recommendations, and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions. Additional activities, such as the "Ili in the Eyes of Writers" reading sharing session and the "Cultural Charm Permeates the Study" rural reading exchange, were scheduled at venues like the Ili River Academy and the Wang Meng Study. These events invited local authors and rural reading promoters to interact and share with residents.
In recent years, Yining City has focused on building the "Culture Nurtures the Flower City · Books Perfume Yining" brand. The city has organized over 2,400 reading events, attracting more than 120,000 participants. It has established over 100 book mobile stations and reading sharing points, created themed public transport dedicated to reading, and developed distinctive spaces such as the "Wang Meng Study." The city has also produced more than 50 short videos, including the series "I Read Ili to You," fostering a strong culture of public reading.
Li Lihua, Executive Deputy Head of the Yining Municipal Committee Propaganda Department, stated that this initiative will be used as an opportunity to leverage community resources such as rural libraries, reading rooms, new era civilization practice centers, and mobile book sharing points. The goal is to provide better reading environments and cultivate a rich literary atmosphere throughout society.
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