On April 24, 2025, beneath the green shade in front of the School of Finance, a pile of old books brushed off the dust of years and came alive again in the palms of young readers.

Since UNESCO designated April 23—the day both Cervantes and Shakespeare passed away—as World Book and Copyright Day in 1995, this paper-bound journey of reading has spanned three decades.

Marking its seventh year, the Ningyi Hongdao Book House celebrated the occasion with a themed pop-up event — “Old Books, New Knowledge: Making Friends Through Reading.” The event became a small temple of literary rebirth, where books once forgotten found new life and readers found unexpected connections.

At noon, the pop-up stall came alive with color and creativity. Handcrafted book exchange cards, raffle tickets, and book-themed magnetic souvenirs awaited visitors, turning the event into a poetic retreat amid the vibrant campus fair.

As sunlight glided across the spines of the books, the event officially began at 2:30 p.m. Students came carrying their cherished volumes — “May you find your own moonlight in Su Dongpo’s journey,” one wrote, “This copy of The Awakening of Cognition accompanied me through four years of college,” wrote another.

Each message, inscribed on the exchange cards, transformed a simple book trade into an emotional relay: some left heartfelt blessings, others hid riddles waiting for the next reader to uncover — all letting stories continue in new hands.

Soon, the area filled with laughter and curiosity. Faded biographies of Du Fu and Su Dongpo sat side by side, while The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying rested quietly beside Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem. Between these pages, readers encountered echoes of thought and imagination that transcended genre and time.

By dusk, the final book exchanges were completed. The camera captured flushed cheeks and shining eyes; the recorder preserved soft confessions about favorite books. Those volumes once standing silently on shelves were now embarking on new journeys — perhaps to be opened under a warm lamp, perhaps to drift toward another reader’s waiting hands.

World Book Day, like every page, will eventually turn. But we still believe —

that even in an age of glowing screens, there are always people who pause for the rustle of printed pages; that stories continue to awaken in the gaze of strangers; that just like the trees blooming year after year before the School of Finance, the springtime of reading will forever remain young!