In Hebei, a city focuses on Chinese poetry

A meeting to exchange information on The Book of Songs — known in Chinese as Shijing — and contemporary poetry was held recently in Hejian, a county-level city in Cangzhou, Hebei province.

The gathering aimed to foster and improve the inheritance of Shijing, according to the city's publicity department which was one of the meetings' organizers.

Shijing is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising some 300 poems dating from the 11th to the 7th century BC.

An important place for inheriting Shijing culture and known for its preservation of Chinese poetry, Hejian has worked to integrate cultural elements into every aspect of the city's development, including urban construction and education, the department said.

The city has built several parks with themes from Shijing content and culture. It also has Shijing Road and Shijing Bridge. More than 130 cultural walls introducing Shijing have been built, along with an exhibition hall.

Training courses for learning Shijing and creating poems have also been organized, the department said.

During the recent meeting, a theatrical gala was held, with performances based on Shijing content.