Liu Yi speaks at the Spring Reading event in Beijing on April 20, 2026. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Spring breeze flips the pages, and reading changes life. The Global Times "Spring Reading" event was recently held at the Guangcheng Academy in Beijing. With literature as the medium and making friends through reading, the event has built a bridge for exchanging insights on reading and promoting the National Reading Initiative. 

During the event, Liu Yi, board member of the China Taofen Foundation, drew upon his personal life experience to offer incisive insights into the significance of reading.

"The power of reading may not immediately change our circumstances, but it slowly nourishes our inner world. It helps us stay clear-minded and fulfilled amid life's hustle and toil, and preserve a sense of poetry and passion within daily life. Little by little, it makes us better versions of ourselves. This is the simplest yet most precious significance of reading," Liu noted. 
 
There are countless stories of lives being transformed by reading. Liu recalled, "I was once a student who relied on books to make my way from the countryside to the city. My mother, a dedicated teacher, placed great importance on education. No matter how difficult our circumstances were, she never let anything interfere with my schooling. Reading became the most important part of my childhood."
 
"From university all the way to earning a PhD, from graduating from Tsinghua University to becoming a teacher myself, the ability to read and learn has always been something I value deeply. It is not a lack of reading resources that we face, especially in the digital age, but a lack of methods and the capacity for focused reading," he said. 

A nation that loves reading is a nation full of hope and strength; a society rich in the fragrance of books is one that is civilized and harmonious, he added.