The Ho Chi Minh City Book Street officially opened on Nguyen Van Binh street, District 1, on January 9, looking to promote the reading habit.

After three months of construction, the street is a fixed and long-term book-themed space with a view to promoting the reading culture, according to the municipal Department of Information and Communications and the southern office of the Vietnam Publishers’ Association, which co-developed the space.

The 144-metre pedestrian street is featuring 20 book stalls and space for discussions and exchanges among publishers, authors and readers.

Areas for book and newspaper exhibitions and the exchange of rare publications are zoned.

The street also offers two corners for those who want to read books and enjoy coffee concurrently.

It also reserves a playground for children with a variety of activities such as story telling contests, figurine painting and book illustration drawing.

Le Thai Hy, Director of the municipal Information and Communications Department, said the Book Street is a unique culture symbol of Ho Chi Minh City and a community space where book lovers can feel overwhemed by the reading culture.

According to Nguyen An Tiem, deputy head of the Press and Publication Department of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Education and Popularisation, the book street model would be multiplied across other localities in the future.

From now to February 8, the street will host a display on literary works and poems created during wartime, an exhibition on modern and old newspapers and magazines, and talk shows with film-director Le Hoang and educator Gian Tu Trung.

VNA