Briefly

Restoration of ancient texts

An exhibition on restoring ancient books, the largest of its kind in the country, opened at the National Library of China on Tuesday.

A total of 103 volumes or pieces of restored works are on display, including some documents discovered at the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northwest China, and early Buddhist scriptures.

The exhibition is jointly organized by the library and provincial-level ancient-book preservation centers nationwide. It also features the first national restoration competition for ancient books.

Visitors can see the tools and paper used to restore ancient books and documents, and get a better understanding of the craftsmanship through demonstrations by technicians.

New edition of Xinhua Dictionary

A symposium was held in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the publication of the 12th edition of the Xinhua Dictionary, the most authoritative Chinese-language dictionary.

The new edition reflects the country's great achievements over the decades. Initially compiled in 1950, more than 600 million copies of the dictionary have been sold so far. Cai Dafeng, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and chairman of the central committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, attended the symposium.

BIBF to go virtual and smart

This year's Beijing International Book Fair will open online on Sept 26, with an estimated 400,000 types of books on display.

It will be the first virtual fair since the inaugural event back in 1986, the organizer says.

The smart BIBF, using new technologies such as big data and AI, will create an all-year-round communications platform for the international book-publishing industry, according to the BIBF's website.

With Cuba as the Country of Honor, the book fair has attracted more than 1,000 registered online exhibitors from 68 countries and regions, the organizer says.

This year's book fair will be loaded with various programs, including copyright trade, publication exhibition, the BIBF global reading festival and the 2020 Beijing international publishing forum.

The 27th event is co-hosted by the National Press and Publication Administration, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Beijing municipal government, the Publishers Association of China and the China Writers Association.

Publication on rare plants

A book on China's rare and endangered plants has been published, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The book, Conservation and Reintroduction of Rare and Endangered Plants in China, was published in English by Springer and was compiled by researchers from the South China Botanical Garden that is affiliated with the CAS.

The book covers plant diversity, and in situ and ex situ conservation. It also includes case studies on the reintroduction of 14 species of rare and endangered plants. It is one in a series of publications set to showcase China's achievements in biodiversity conservation during the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Xinhua