LOVE FOR READING THROUGH THE LENS

At the foot of the historic Tengwang Pavilion and within the quiet halls of a bookstore in the Aixi Lake Forest Park in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, a unique photography exhibition is drawing the attention of visitors to the fifth National Conference on Reading.

Unlike traditional showcases of polished art, the exhibition presents more than 100 snapshots of ordinary people immersed in reading. The images show a market vendor turning pages under dim light after closing; a child curled up in a narrow secondhand bookstore aisle; a mother and daughter sharing a picture book in a community corner; and a construction worker resting against bricks with a novel in hand.

These are not staged portraits but candid moments that reveal a literary spirit thriving beyond the confines of formal libraries and classrooms.

What sets the exhibition apart is its origin. All photographs were submitted over the past four years by ordinary Jiangxi residents, who may be readers, librarians, bookstore clerks, and passersby who paused to capture quiet moments either on cameras or phones.

Since debuting at the Jiangxi provincial reading conference in 2023, the grassroots project has amassed over 1,000 submissions, evolving into a beloved cultural feature in the province.

With the fifth National Conference on Reading held from Monday to Wednesday in Nanchang, the photo exhibition demonstrates how reading has become an organic and indispensable part of everyday life.

For its curators, the lens acts as the eye of society, faithfully documenting a shift. Reading is no longer confined to solemn libraries or bookstores. It has spilled into streetside nooks, community centers, rural reading rooms, night markets, and construction sites.

Open free to the public at multiple venues across Nanchang, the exhibition suggests that building a reading culture is measured not only by the number of libraries or book sales, but by the quiet, conscious choice of a nation to carry a book and find a moment of warmth amid the daily hustle.