Nanjing-based publishing giant Phoenix Publishing and Media Group debuted Biography of the Great Wall and Biography of the Grand Canal at the 29th Beijing International Book Fair, which ran from June 15 to 18 in Beijing.

Publishing houses in Kazakhstan, India and Nepal signed license agreements with PPMG, which authorizes their publishing of the books' Kazakh, Indian and Nepali versions.

Both the Grand Canal and the Great Wall are important cultural calling cards of China showcasing the country's cultural profile.

Compiled by the Committee on Culture, Historical Data and Studies of the CPPCC National Committee and the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, the two titles utilize vivid words and delicate pictures to show the grandeur, unique charm and cultural value of the two world cultural heritage sites.

Currently, the first print runs of the books are sold out. Biography of the Grand Canal was rated as Book of the Year 2022 while Biography of the Great Wall made the list of Chinese Good Books for Children's Day.

Xu Hai, vice-president of PPMG, delivered a speech at the signing ceremony, saying that PPMG has always been dedicated to publishing top-quality books and promoting outstanding traditional Chinese culture and that he expects to display the long history and splendid civilization of China as well as the value of traditional Chinese culture.

In recent years, PPMG has enhanced its efforts to promote overseas publishing of original titles, inked project cooperation agreements with international publishers, and built a reserve library of high-quality projects for copyright export, according to Xu.

He added that PPMG will strengthen its cooperation with surrounding countries, countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, and others in Europe and the Americas to build a cultural bridge for international exchanges and promote reading worldwide.

Liu Shuguang, executive editor of the books, noted in his speech that application for world cultural heritage status is an important way to introduce Chinese cultural heritage to the world while publishing books about such heritage overseas will further boost the spread of Chinese culture.

Liu also expressed his hope that more such books will be compiled to tell Chinese stories of world cultural heritage to the world.

Seken Aday, Kaushal Goyal, and Kiran Gautam from authorized publishing houses in Kazakhstan, India and Nepal respectively also made speeches at the ceremony.

They said that they are glad to receive the authorization and believe that the Grand Canal and Great Wall are cultural heritage that attracts worldwide attention and witnesses China's profound culture and civilization.

They also said that the publishing of the books in different languages will introduce the world cultural heritage to more countries.