China-India photo exhibit, major attraction at New Delhi book fair

"As you will read the book Up and Out of Poverty by (Chinese President) Xi Jinping, you will find out the secret which helped China to lift people out of poverty."

Hundreds of people, especially book lovers, thronged the venue to have a look at the books and other cultural events at the display inside New Delhi World Book Fair-2020 that began here on Saturday.

Book lovers young and old were making a beeline to the halls showcasing a wide array of books and cultural activity.

The fair will go on until Jan 12 much to the delight of visitors and those interested in looking at the world through books.

"Both India and China are the greatest civilizations and because of the huge population that we have if we come together and send a voice, nobody can ignore that," the Chinese ambassador said.

"Books open a big window to the world outside. I hope the books here will built bridges between China and India." the ambassador said.

At the stall, visitors walk through the chambers having hundreds of Chinese books translated into English displayed on its shelves.

The visiting publishers from China hope to strengthen their ties with India by providing a glimpse of China's culture and knowledge.

"Hope our efforts will bring two countries together and pave a way to understand each others' culture," said Wang Yixuan, vice chairman of Phoneix publishing and media group.

India and China established diplomatic relations in 1950.

The year 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China. Both countries have earmarked 70 different programs to celebrate the bond between them and photo exhibition forms part of such commemoration.

"Every year I come to this fair and visit the China counter to see what new books are available," said Anuja Kholi, a visitor and China watcher. "I even went to the photo exhibition gallery to have a look at the photographs that bring alive the relationship between India and China."

The World Book Fair in New Delhi touted as "Asia's largest book fair" attracted around 1 million visitors.

Around Delhi, the billboards and posters about the book fair are dotting the roads and markets. Even posters have been pasted on the back of auto-rickshaws (a common form of urban transport in India) to lure people. The tickets for the fair have been kept available at multiple places for the convenience of visitors.