The 2026 Southern China Book Fair (SCBF) opened in Guangzhou on August 27th, bringing together more than 300 publishers from home and abroad across 31 themed pavilions, and featuring more than 170 authors and cultural figures, as well as over 280 cultural events.

Today, e-books and online reading have transformed how people access content. The more important role of today's SCBF is to bring together creators, publishing institutions, high-quality content, and diverse cultures. In doing so, it makes reading not just a personal pursuit of knowledge, but also an important part of public cultural services, a fundamental path to lifelong learning, and a common language for cultural exchange, thus integrating it into the daily practice of building a nation of avid readers.

First, the 2026 SCBF provides a public space where people can come together to explore and discuss knowledge. The content it presents continues to expand in both depth and breadth. More notably, this year's fair has turned the connection between nationwide reading and lifelong learning into concrete arrangements, so that lifelong learning is no longer just an idea but is backed by a more concrete and sustainable support system.

Building a reading habit depends on sustained personal effort over time. A book fair cannot complete this process for you. What it can offer is a carefully selected collection of good books, a valuable exchange of ideas, and a chance to open a book again. When people take home not only a good book from the fair, but also an interest in a historical period, a culture, or a field of knowledge, reading can continue to be part of daily life after this annual gathering.

南国书香节，让阅读成为一生的日常

8月27日，2026南国书香节在广州启幕。31个特色展馆汇聚300余家海内外出版机构，170余位名家和280余场文化活动集中亮相。

如今，电子书和线上阅读已经改变了人们获取内容的方式。今天的南国书香节，更重要的作用是把创作者、出版机构、优质内容和多元文化汇聚起来，让阅读不只是一种个人的求知方式，也成为公共文化服务的重要内容、终身学习的基本路径和文明交流的共同语言，进而融入书香社会建设的日常实践。

南国书香节首先提供了一处共同理解和讨论知识的公共空间。其所呈现的内容，也在纵深与广度上不断延展。更值得关注的是，今年书香节把全民阅读与终身学习的衔接落到了具体安排中，使终身学习不只是一种理念，也有了更具体、更可持续的支撑体系。

阅读习惯的形成，有赖于个人日积月累的坚持，一场书展无法替人完成这个过程。它所能提供的，是一批经过遴选的好书、一场有价值的交流，以及一次重新打开书本的契机。当人们从书香节带回家的，不只有一本好书，还有对一段历史、一种文化或一个知识领域的兴趣，阅读便有可能在一年一度的相聚之后，继续融入日常生活。

文丨张晗
译丨黄健新
英文审校丨曾敏