The story appears on

Page C2

August 29, 2016

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » District » Jing'an

Reaching out to office workers in culture promotion

JING’an’S efforts to promote public cultural awareness have developed special ways of reaching out to white-collar workers, who comprise a major portion of the district’s population.

One intriguing tactic is to invite them to once-a-month gathering in Jing’an Library to learn how to recite essays and poems.

“I went just to see if I could learn how to make a sound deep from the dantian,” Hu Ruoan, 32, an English translator, said of what the Chinese believe to be the energy center of the lower abdomen.

“But once I started attending,” she said, “I found the gathering nicer than I expected. I befriended people who love reading and books. And to prepare for each next session, I read more than ever.”

Hu is part of a group that started meeting in April 2015. She is now participating in a session led by Huang Lei, from the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio.

Huang said she has trained nearly 120 white-collar workers in how to breathe properly, which is a very important aspect of recitation.

“Skills are just tools, which help them properly express feelings that are deep in their hearts,” she said.

According to library Director Pu Linhong, the sessions provide not only the opportunity for white-collar workers to socialize with like-minded people but also a way to escape from hectic urban life through books and meditation.

Another strategy in spreading culture among white-collar workers is the library bookmobile

Currently, one van is used to carry thousands of books out into district locales.

The service is available to those holding Shanghai Library cards. The van visits Plaza, 889 on Wanhangdu Road and Jing’an Park every Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday, from 11am to 1pm.

“We pick novels or books related to fashion to cater to the reading tastes of white-collar workers,” Pu said. “We choose noontimes for the bookmobile because we hope people will stop in during their lunch breaks.”

A second van will be put into operation by the end of the year, focusing its services on areas in northern Jing’an.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend