Event fully booked

The Tianjin International Exhibition Center will be packed to the rafters for the 15th Beijing International Book Fair from September 1-4.

The event is expected to draw more than 1,300 exhibitors from 50 countries and regions in the publishing and related sections along with 500 Chinese publishers, according to key organizer China Book Import and Export Corp.

Apart from space for traditional print editions, special galleries will be dedicated to digital publishing, copyright trading, Chinese Book International Program, plus animation and cartoon publications for children.

To coincide with the Olympics and Paralympics, Greece will be the country of honor, given a 700 sq m exhibiting space for various activities, including lectures by 8 famed Greek authors.

Olympex medalists

The Olympex, or Olympic Expo Beijing 2008, ended on Monday at the Beijing Exhibition Hall with an awards-giving ceremony for outstanding philatelists from around the world.

Eighteen philatelists from 23 countries snatched 19 gold medals, beating other 196 competitors for their carefully designed, well-presented Olympic-themed collections of stamps, first day covers, coins and other postage souvenirs.

The 11-day expo for fans of philately and Olympic culture attracted over 80,000 visitors from home and abroad.

As the Olympex 2008 Beijing, the first of its kind, turned out to be a great success, it will become a regular, official event for future summer and winter Olympic Games to promote Olympic culture, said Urs Lacotte, director general of the International Olympic Committee at the award ceremony.