As the 30th World Book Day approached, Elhomosany Hesham Ramzy, a 29-year-old Egyptian student at Shanxi University, found himself wandering through the aisles of Xinhua Nangong Bookstore in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.

"Through books, I've discovered a more diverse China — one where people cherish reading, seek wisdom and embrace knowledge," he said.

He was reading Shanxi on Earth, a landmark work of cultural geography that took four years to compile. This monumental book, the first of its kind in Shanxi, has captured the attention of readers at home and abroad. "It has opened a new door for me to understand Chinese culture," Ramzy said.

Shanxi, one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, boasts the largest number of ancient buildings in the country, home to more than 50,000 immovable cultural relics, each a testament to the passage of time. From the majestic Yungang Grottoes to the sacred Mount Wutai and the ancient streets of Pingyao — three UNESCO World Heritage Sites — every corner of this land carries the weight of history.

Shanxi on Earth was spearheaded by Jiang Jianbo, director of the Shanxi Humanities and Geography Digital Industry Research Institute. Jiang and his team devoted over 30 years to in-depth research and field investigations to complete this 760-page, two-kilogram tome.

The book includes 63 exquisite hand-drawn maps and 361 stunning photographs taken by 150 photographers. By approaching from a geographical perspective and gradually delving into historical and cultural realms, it presents the unique charm of Shanxi's regional culture in a comprehensive manner. Since its release in October 2023, the book has generated nearly one million yuan ($137,000) in sales, becoming a microcosm of Shanxi's cultural dissemination and reflecting the province's growing enthusiasm for reading.

"Shanxi lacked an effective window to showcase itself to the outside world," Jiang said. As a result, he proposed the concept of "Understanding China, starting from Shanxi", hoping that through the book more people would gain a deeper understanding of Shanxi and, by extension, Chinese culture, thereby enhancing cultural confidence among the Chinese people.

Reflecting on the evolution of reading, Jiang said: "From the limited knowledge-bearing oracle bones to the advent of bamboo slips and paper, and eventually books, human reading has continuously deepened. The emergence of books facilitated the exchange and collision of Eastern and Western civilizations, driving the progress of human civilization."

In recent years, Shanxi's atmosphere of reading has grown increasingly vibrant. By last year, the province had established a five-level public reading service system spanning province, city, county, township and village levels, supported by over 120 libraries, 3,200 physical bookstores and 18,800 rural reading rooms.

Meanwhile, platforms such as workers' libraries, community reading rooms and broadcast television networks collaborated to conduct thousands of reading activities annually, reaching and benefiting millions of participants.

Physical bookstores, as vital carriers of urban culture, have played an irreplaceable role in promoting reading. Xinhua Nangong Bookstore, developed by the Shanxi Xinhua Bookstore Group as a new concept, broke away from traditional methods. It categorized its 80,000 books into 13 major themes based on reading preferences, creating a more targeted and personalized reading space for readers, said Lian Yi, manager of the bookstore.

Lian said that the bookstore also launched the "Youth Night School" project, integrating social resources and inviting industry experts and intangible cultural heritage inheritors to give lectures, providing rich learning resources for the youth.

"I hope our bookstore becomes a spiritual home for every book lover and another cultural landmark in the city," he said.

As digital reading grows, Jiang acknowledges the convenience of e-books and audiobooks. But he said while mobile reading has diversified reading forms, it remains fragmented and can't replace the deep reading experience provided by physical books. "Only through book reading can people achieve deep thinking and emotional exchange," he said.

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