Book Capital debuts at the Frankfurt Book Fair

The APEC special issue of Book Capital, a bimonthly cultural magazine published by Shenzhen Publishing House under the supervision of Shenzhen Publishing Group, was displayed at the 78th Frankfurt Book Fair from Oct. 7 to 11, offering an unconventional perspective on the city.

The APEC special issue of Book Capital on display at the 78th Frankfurt Book Fair between Oct. 7 to 11. Photos provided to Amazing Shenzhen

Launched in 1949, the Frankfurt Book Fair is held every October in Frankfurt, Germany. It is one of the world's largest and most influential publishing events and a major hub for international rights trading. This year, more than 4,000 publishing organizations from over 100 countries and regions presented their works at the fair.

Under the theme "Reading China," the China joint pavilion brought together more than 80 Chinese publishing and cultural organizations, showcasing over 3,000 titles.

Instead of taking grand narratives, Book Capital features the lives of 50 people from around the world and across different walks of life who call Shenzhen home. With the 2026 APEC summit set to open in Shenzhen in November, this English-Chinese bilingual special issue was created in anticipation of the event.

Shenzhen Publishing House's booth at the book fair. 

Shenzhen's appeal lies not only in its rising GDP and rapid technological advances, but also in its ability to bring people from different backgrounds together, helping them become who they want to be. In the opening feature of the APEC special issue, anthropologist and historian Alan Macfarlane leads readers to explore the "Shenzhen mystery," setting the stage for the city's stories.

The issue presents a portrait of a global Shenzhen, unfolding through the interplay of art, people, economy and city life as seen through the everyday experiences of 50 individuals. Some of them grew up in Shenzhen, others came from different parts of the world. Together, they offer another way to understand the city — not through a sweeping panorama of rapid transformation, but through the warmth that emerges when people reach out and connect.

As Du Juan, the inaugural director of Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, seeks answers for this fast-growing city through a 20-year "experiment report," readers glimpse the invitation that Shenzhen extends to the world: "There will always be a door open for you.”

The showcase of Book Capital at the Frankfurt Book Fair marks the publication's major step onto the international publishing stage. Through its pages, it also offers the world a fresh, vivid portrait of Shenzhen on the eve of the APEC gathering.

With the vision of "becoming a cultural guidebook to a city," Book Capital is helping the world discover a Shenzhen shaped by countless people striving to build their futures.