Lin Min

Linmin67@hotmail.com

SHENZHENERS find life is even more beautiful this month with the city flower bougainvillea in full bloom and the 20th Reading Month bringing them a rich variety of books and related events.

A stroll around the Lianhua Hill Park and Civic Center area now gives residents one of the best experiences November in Shenzhen can offer. In this season of the year, nothing seems to be more rewarding than embracing the aroma of books and blossoming bougainvillea flowers in a relief from the hustle and bustle of the megacity, so long as you avoid the weekend crowds.

At Shenzhen Book City CBD Store, you can become a part of the 20th Reading Month and feel Shenzhen’s love of books. In addition to the rich collection of books available, some writers are present to interact with readers.

Shenzhen’s zeal for reading is globally recognized. In 2013, UNESCO named Shenzhen a global model for the promotion of reading, recognizing the city’s persistent efforts in promoting reading among the public.

Adult Shenzheners read an average of 7.23 print books last year, more than doubling the national average of 2.56 books, according to the latest annual national reading survey.

A young population eager to learn, a city focused on innovation and creativity, and the government’s efforts to promote culture make reading a popular hobby. More than a tool for learning, books enrich our lives and minds.

While music has no boundaries, books can also bridge cultures. During the 2013 Reading Month, I saw hundreds of book lovers line up to have Harvard professor Michael Sandel autograph his new books at Shenzhen Book City CBD Store. In addition to domestic authors, some foreign writers also have huge followings in Shenzhen.

In November, books become a good match with flowers.

Shenzhen’s Park Culture Season, previously known as Park Culture Week, stretched into its 14th edition this year. While the bougainvillea flower show at Lianhua Hill Park is the centerpiece of the monthly event, other parks around the city offer residents various activities: folk culture performances, flower shows, displays of intangible cultural relics, calligraphy and painting exhibitions, concerts, and more.

At Lianhua Hill Park, potted bougainvillea with flowers of different colors present the best of the plant as well as the city’s spirit to visitors in six meticulously planned gardens. Bougainvillea became Shenzhen’s city flower in 1986 because of its ubiquity in the city and its ability to thrive even in infertile soil, alluding to the hardworking and trailblazing spirit of the founders of the special economic zone.

As Park Culture Season is being held in seven municipal-level parks and 22 district-level parks, residents can also explore others in the city’s rich collection of parks, whose number exceeded 1,000 this year. A culture of parks is taking shape.

Shenzhen, known for its high-tech industries and financial services, has been devoted to gaining greater strength in the cultural and creative sectors. The Reading Month and Park Culture Season, among others, help establish a cultural identity in the young city, which was ridiculed as a “cultural desert” in its early years.

Books and flowers bring people of different backgrounds together. In Shenzhen, culture is less about the city’s heritage and more about its people and how their lives are enriched.

“People usually consider culture as having old buildings or important history... In my point of view, culture is made by its people and constantly moving. Shenzhen is a city with people from all over the world, especially China, which makes it a place with a very specific and dynamic culture,” Jesus Alberto Salazar Cabrera from Venezuela, the first-prize winner of the 2019 “Expats Eye Shenzhen” Photo Contest, said at the award ceremony in June.

(The author is head of the Shenzhen Daily News Desk.)