Nanjing
Founded 2,500 years ago in the region at the confluence of the Yellow River and Yangtze River, Nanjing served as China麓s capital for six dynasties for over 500 years. It boasts an ancient literary tradition that includes China麓s first literary academy and the world麓s largest reference work, the Imperial Encyclopaedia. Over 10,000 literary works have been written in or on Nanjing, including the Chinese classic 鈥淒ream of the Red Chamber鈥 and Nobel laureate Pearl Buck麓s masterpiece 鈥淭he Good Earth鈥.
Nanjing locals are known as bibliophiles and their city is home to Librairie Avant-Garde, regarded by many as one of the world麓s most beautiful bookstores. "Book Bars" along the ancient City Wall give new life to the city麓s heritage. The Qinhuai Lantern Festival attracts millions of visitors for poetry recitals and riddles. Nanjing Book Fair is held every March and programmes like the Half-city Book Club, one of China麓s most popular women麓s reading groups, ensure gender equal access to literature.
In 2018, Nanjing issued a development plan for the next 20 years in line with the UN鈥檚 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to further develop cooperation, building on its creative and literary capital while supporting its environmental goals. Nanjing is also one of China鈥檚 key economic centres, with cultural industries playing an essential role in its development. The city also hosts the country鈥檚 top publishing group and best translation publisher. To promote growth in literature, the municipality has established a special fund for literary and cultural creativity.
As a Creative City of Literature, Nanjing envisages:
- promoting the UCCN objectives through cooperation and exchange notably in literature;
- contributing to nurturing the diversity of the Creative Cities Network and building long-term partnerships between world cities through the Literary Diversity and Urban Sustainability Forum;
- cultivating the next generation of cultural frontrunners by encouraging transversal partnerships;
- promoting literary exchange with dedicated funds for translation and the Resident Writers Programme; and
- expanding the 鈥淲indow to World Literature鈥 initiative across different world regions to promote the Network麓s vision and international exchange.
