Hanoi Book Festival attracts people of all ages

Thousands people of all ages flocked to the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi on September 29 to enjoy the 2015 Hanoi Book Festival which featured 167 booths with more than 20,000 books of various genres on display.

Themed “Books and Heritage”, this year’s festival was among the capital’s key events to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Hanoi’s Liberation (October 10, 1954).

In his remarks at the festival’s launching ceremony on the same day, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said the literary event aimed to contribute to a strategy for the development of a reading culture in Vietnam that the ministry has been implementing.

The Deputy Minister hoped Hanoi and other provinces nationwide would pay greater attention to developing a reading culture among communities and that more book events would be held for not only readers but also writers and publishers to exchange ideas and promote their work.

Different sections were organised for calligraphy writing, book colouring, and “ca tru” and “trau van” singing while dozens of panel discussions and talks between readers, authors and book researchers were also hosted on the sidelines of the event.

The organiser is collecting book donations during the week-long festival, which runs through October 5. The donated books will be presented to schools in mountainous communes and naval solders on Truong Sa and Ly Son Islands.-VNA