'Reading Light Box' celebrates books with unique blend of activities

Here is an invitation for avid bookworms! An array of fun activities guiding people on an engaging journey through local culture, astronomy and literary traditions has unfolded in Shanghai's downtown Xuhui District.

April marks a vibrant season for reading enthusiasts, with World Book Day on April 23 celebrated through a festival of literary events.

The main venue is set at Zikawei Library, the cultural heart of the district, known affectionately as the "Reading Light Box."

Here are some highlight events:

Boundless Stargazing

The library, in collaboration with the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, is offering a unique immersive extended reality (XR) astronomy experience that transports visitors through virtual reality (VR) to explore the moon, galaxy and cosmos.

Utilizing XR plus artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, Pico 4 UE (ultra enterprise) glasses, and immersive VR venues, the project digitizes popular exhibits from the astronomy museum, such as the origins of the moon, the evolution of the Earth, and flying through the Milky Way.

Readers can enjoy the same immersive VR exploration experience as offered by the museum. During the experience, they will embark on an astronomical journey that is panoramic, multi-sensory, surreal and borderless, feeling the brilliance of the Milky Way's stars and the mysterious wonders of the universe. And the experience is free!

Venue: Zikawei Library 徐家汇书院

Address: 158 Caoxi Rd N., Xuhui District 徐汇区漕溪北路158号

Opening hours: 9am-9pm (closed on Mondays), through April 30

Admission: Free

Borderless Exploration

The YUE Market, a creative literary market, is a beloved event among Shanghai book lovers. Several well-known publishing houses, independent bookstores, and aesthetic brands have joined hands this year to create an immersive reading-culture feast.

Here, you can make friends through books and touch the artistic pulse of the city.

During the event, you can also interact with intangible cultural heritage craftsmen skilled in traditional arts like embroidery, bamboo plaiting and paper cutting.

Original handcrafted accessories, ceramic art, scented candles, plant micro-landscapes, cute plush items, and fun culturally creative products can also be found.

Notably, there are English book booths at the market, just be prepared to immerse yourself in a relaxed vibe!

Venue: Zikawei Library Square

Opening hours: 11am-8pm, through Sunday

Special Exhibition: "Shanghai Style·Legacy – Past and Present of Shanghai Art Deco Architecture"

The city's Art Deco apartments and public buildings epitomize modern Shanghai-style architectural design.

They reflect the exceptional skills and expertise of architects from across the globe, as well as their depictions of the diverse lifestyles of residents in these apartments and their interpretations of the city's multicultural side.

These structures harmonize varying cultural lifestyles and integrate them into Shanghai culture.

With their stepped, diamond, V-shaped, and radiating motifs, they also emphasize order and geometry, creating a grand and classical aesthetic.

The display presents models of classic Art Deco buildings in Shanghai's Hengfu (Hengshan-Fuxing Road) Historical Conservation Zone, including Savoy Apartments and Picardie Apartments.

The base, inspired by Art Deco, reinterprets Jiangnan (a region to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) water town elements like bridges and lattice windows.

Venue: Zikawei Library Atrium

Opening hours: 9am-9pm, through May 5