Visitors take photos of periodicals at the 2026 Beijing International Book Fair on June 17, 2026. Photos: Li Hao/GT

China's digital reading users have reached 689 million, while the global e-book market surpassed $50.61 billion in the past year. In an age in which a smartphone can hold a library, it is natural to wonder: Will print books always remain the go-to reading choice for people?

The recent 2026 Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) offered a compelling answer.

Over 1,700 exhibitors from 82 countries and regions gathered under one roof at the fair in Beijing from Wednesday to Sunday. A glance across the exhibition hall revealed shelves filled with books in dozens of languages, their cover designs and bindings as diverse as the cultures they came from. 

Up close, Chinese and foreign publishers could be seen huddled together, catalogues of their stellar releases in hand, deep in conversation about potential collaborations. Such scenes may not offer a definitive answer to the future of print books, but what they revealed is that print books are not only a focus of market interest, but have also become a medium for dialogue between cultures.

A UAE guest and a Chinese attendee exchange views at the book fair on June 17, 2026.

Bridge between cultures

A part of the Chinese publishing industry for 40 years, BIBF has now become Asia's most international book fair. What started as a place for publishing deals has grown into something special - a stage where countries come to show who they are through their books.

The 2026 BIBF attracted a number of emerging international players drawn by the promise of the Chinese publishing market. The Caribbean collective was among them.

The collective's booth featured over 30 titles from eight Caribbean islands, including Jamaica and Barbados. Among them were works like The Day I Fell Off My Island, a coming-of-age story that traces a young Jamaican girl's life journey and Voyage to the Moon, a children's book by a local author.

Latoya West-Blackwood, the booth's representative and also the director of the Jamaica Book Festival, told the Global Times that despite her years of experience at international book fairs, she rarely sees faces from her part of the world. This made her participation at BIBF an especially "meaningful engagement," as it allowed her to introduce Caribbean culture to Chinese readers. With meetings already lined up with Chinese publishers, she noted that she hopes translation partnerships will eventually bring Caribbean stories to Chinese audiences.

"The fact that we were invited to the BIBF, to me, really speaks to the mutual interest of countries in learning from one another," she remarked. 

The cross-cultural "mutual interest" at BIBF appeared in diverse forms, including translation projects, co-publishing, reading events led by diplomatic cultural missions and more.

Near the Caribbean booth, the Italian booth presented Traditional Chinese Architecture by Chinese architectural historian Fu Xinian, a result of the China-Italy classics translation initiative. 

Decorated with white drapes, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Guest of Honor pavilion showcased a book of Emirati folktales of mystical beings. Co-published by the UAE's Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH) and Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, it is part of a series that will also feature Chinese folk stories. As Khalid Ali AlMatrooshi, a representative of SIH, told the Global Times, these folktales act as an anchor, sparking "cultural curiosity among readers in both countries."

As a frequent participant at the BIBF, the Greek Ambassador to China, Dr. Evgenios Kalpyris told the Global Times that he values the role of translation in bringing the civilizations of Greece and China closer. The Greek booth hosted the BIBF debut of Kaktos Publications, a Greek publisher known for its stellar collection of ancient Greek literature.

"Translated books are a medium for transmitting knowledge, a medium of communication, and an instrument of culture," the ambassador remarked. 

Dr. Evgenios Kalpyris, Greek ambassador to China, visits the Greek pavilion at the 2026 BIBF in Beijing. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of Greece in China

Broad engagement 

Aside from the display of 220,000 physical books from around the globe, the 2026 BIBF also featured over 1,000 offline events and new sections like the "IP Licensing Zone." These interactive sectors have turned the book fair into a cultural festival that connected the public with reading.

At the Hong Kong pavilion, visitors could don VR headsets and enter the literary worlds of Hong Kong writers, ranging from Eileen Chang's footprints at the University of Hong Kong to writer Ye Si's memory of Mong Kok's streets.  The high-tech experience pushed the boundaries of reading. "It shows that digital technology is not the 'enemy' of print books, but a catalyst to reignite the passion for reading," Hsu Chenghao, a 29-year-old visitor from the island of Taiwan, told the Global Times.

Beyond the VR experiences, the BIBF's first-ever "IP Licensing Zone" featured over 120 IPs from diverse cultural fields including the animated series GG Bond and the heritage of Beijing's Temple of Heaven. Through creative merchandise collaborations, these IPs let visitors take book-inspired stories home with them.

Many overseas IPs also engaged Chinese readers through offline events. The Swiss delegation, for instance, held activities themed around German-Swiss literary giant Hermann Hesse. Felix Schwendimann, counsellor and head of Culture and Media at the Embassy of Switzerland in China, told the Global Times that Hesse has served as a "long-term cultural bridge" between the two nations. By bringing this literary heritage to BIBF, he hopes the writer's legacy will sustain an ongoing cultural dialogue between China and Switzerland.

Alongside overseas literary giants, contemporary Chinese literary stars like Liu Zhenyun and Liang Xiaosheng also took the stage, discussing with audiences why reading still matters in the digital age. 

Among the many celebrated authors at the fair, 80-year-old Cai Gao was a standout figure. This year, she made history as China's first illustrator to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award. At BIBF, she was seen browsing the exhibited books with passion and curiosity, while preparing for the official signing and launch of the Cai Gao International Copyright Center established in her name.

"Here, I can feel people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds sharing the same passion for reading," Cai told the Global Times, adding that platforms like BIBF can "provide young authors with a valuable window to the world."

Visitors attend one of Switzerland's book events featuring "the most beautiful swiss books of 2025" at the 2026 BIBF. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of Switzerland in China