Visitors view books at the 2020 Shanghai Book Fair, which concluded on Tuesday. [Photo by Zhang Hengwei/China News Service]

The COVID-19 pandemic might have significantly impacted the operations of the recently concluded 2020 Shanghai Book Fair, but organizers and visitors alike showed no lack of enthusiasm for the annual event.

The event was the first large-scale book fair to take place in China following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in late January.

Despite the crowd restrictions-municipal epidemic-prevention protocols mandated that the fair's visitor limit had to be capped at a third of its usual figure-organizers nevertheless sought to expand the fair's offerings by building temporary tents outdoors to showcase more books and publications.

This year, the organizers launched a new project that paired authors with renowned restaurants in Shanghai to help the embattled food-and-beverage industry.

The Writers' Gourmet Menu project took seven authors and their guests to seven restaurants, where they shared their thoughts about life, literature and cuisine. Video recordings of these sharing sessions were then showcased at the fair. Visitors who bought books at the fair or at designated bookshops also received discounts for dining at these restaurants.

"The project was launched as the joint effort of the cultural and tourism administrations of Shanghai to bolster the business of the dining and tourism industry," says Sun Ganlu, a renowned novelist and deputy director of the Shanghai Writers' Association, who chose to dine at the Fengze Lou restaurant at Park Hotel.

Writers are often strong advocates of their city, and anecdotes about their favorite dining and drinking spots can add a cultural touch to the city, explains Xu Jiong, head of the municipal administration of press and publication.

"We also hope that this new project will introduce more good authors to new readers," he adds.

More than 100 new books about the pandemic were introduced at the fair. Fudan University Press, which presented more than 1,100 new publications, introduced a new book about the economic impact that COVID-19 would have on the world in the long term.

According to Jiao Yang, the Party chief of Fudan University, the new book was an example of "Fudan University's contributions to the fight against COVID-19", noting that the university had rendered assistance to those in the medical, science, research, education, consultancy and public-service sectors.

Going online

In line with the response by many industries to leverage the power of digital technologies to overcome challenges presented by the epidemic, the Shanghai Book Fair held an unprecedented number of online book launches and reading events.

Fifteen online platforms, including video-sharing application Douyin and the web community of Little Red Book, joined hands to form an online community where book launches, book-signing sessions and other reading events were livestreamed to the public.

Many publishing houses had also developed their own online platforms and held online events to introduce their authors and publications. While more than 700 reading events took place offline during the book fair, even more such events were held online.

These online interactions among authors, editors and readers resulted in an increased interest in the books, as illustrated by record sales.

Sales from major online shops affiliated with the Shanghai Book Fair raked in more than 17.3 million yuan ($2.5 million), according to Xu. Fan Deng, a popular vlogger who focuses on books, made 1.12 million yuan worth of sales on the online platforms.

Sold-out event

Enthusiasm for the physical event was just as overwhelming. According to the organizers, the average amount spent by visitors at the fairgrounds rose by 23 percent compared to last year.

The visitor cap had also done little to dampen interest. Tickets to the fair were sold out within hours after they were made available online and at 12 physical book stores.

Xu says that the new visitor limit imposed this year might have even helped with boosting sales, pointing out that the reduced crowd figures had resulted in a more comfortable fair experience. Furthermore, this pleasant experience could even enhance the confidence that people have in book editors and publishers.

Another innovation that the fair debuted this year was a new ticket system that was made possible by the Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai, which was a co-host of the event.

The institution, which usually helps Chinese enterprises hold international exhibitions, made sure that every visitor at the fair was given an identification number that could be used for contact tracing should the need arise.

The council also helped to optimize the design of the exhibition area so that visitors could maintain social distancing while browsing.

"The fact that this annual celebration of books in Shanghai has continued to take place despite the current situation underlines the public confidence in the municipality's administrative capabilities and people's good manners," says Xu.