The Fifth Shenzhen Book Fair, the premier event in the city’s literary calendar, opens Friday with the main venue set up at the Shenzhen Book City CBD Store and its west square in Futian District and seven subvenues across the city.

As a centerpiece of Shenzhen Reading Month, the book fair has invited over 600 domestic publishers to participate. Some 1.59 million copies of 220,000 book categories are on display and for sale, and 10 themed exhibition areas have been set up.

According to the organizers, more than 40 renowned scholars and writers including Jia Pingwa, Zhou Guoping, A Lai, and Bi Yufei have been invited to attend the 10-day event.

Meanwhile, over 200 cultural activities including new book releases, book signings, band performances, and an open-air film screening are lined up for citizens to take part in during the fair.

This year’s book fair has also launched the Shenzhen Publishing House French Book Exhibition, showcasing over 100 kinds of excellent French books introduced and published by Shenzhen Publishing House over the past 20 years, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

In addition, the book fair is running concurrently with the annual Shenzhen Bougainvillea Show held at Lianhua Hill Park. An outdoor reading market has been set up on the corridor connecting the second floor of the Shenzhen Book City CBD Store and Lianhua Hill Park.

Big discounts of up to 35% will be given to residents. Readers can also use consumption coupons to get better deals when purchasing books.

The book fair will run until Nov. 19.