China, UK showcase best books in London

A publisher's booth of London Book Fair 2016 at Olympia Exhibition Centre in London in Britain, April 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and the UK are among more than 110 countries displaying their best books at the London Book Fair this week.

Publishers from both countries are marking the 400th anniversaries this month of the deaths of playwrights Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare.

A specially commissioned Chinese play combining Tang's Peony Pavilion and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was being performed in Chinese and English on Tuesday, the opening day.

A mini performance space based on Shakespeare's Globe Theatre has been set up at the Olympia exhibition center in London. Shakespearean actors from around the world will perform extracts of works in six languages — Chinese, Spanish, Polish, Hindi, Arabic and English — in recognition of Shakespeare's global influence.