An inaugural ceremony for the publication of China Translation Yearbook 2005-2006 was held on Sunday afternoon, September 23, inside the Beijing Wangfujing Bookstore. The ceremony also raised the curtain for a series of lectures on translation that will be presented to the public by famous translators.

President of Translators Association of China (TAC) Liu Xiliang, Chief Editor of the yearbook Zhao Changqian, Foreign Languages Press (FLP) Director Hu Baomin, Professor Fan Shouyi with the China Foreign Affairs University, and senior translator Tang Wensheng all spoke at the ceremony.?

The ceremony was followed by a lecture on translation by China's famous translator Tu An.

The China Translation Yearbook 2005-2006 was compiled by the TAC and published by the FLP in September. Boasting itself as an encyclopedia of China's translation industry, it is the country's first massive reference book covering the industry's current developing situation and latest achievements. Publication of the yearbook is also regarded as a gift for the upcoming International Translation Day on September 30 and the 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Translators (FIT) that will be held in Shanghai next year.

The one million-character yearbook is composed of various categories and sub-sections covering major events in China's translation industry in 2005-2006: international exchanges, theory researches, course construction, translation service, talent training and others. The published yearbook offers the public for the first time statistics concerning Chinese translation talents from 1980 to 2006, all recorded by state authorized departments.

In addition, all valuable historical documents collected by the TAC from 1982 when it was established through 2006 are included in the yearbook.

The inaugural ceremony for the publication of China Translation Yearbook 2005-2006

Liu Xiliang, president of Translators Association of China, delivers his opening speech.

Mr. Tu An, China's famous translator, gives a lecture on translation after the inaugural ceremony.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting September 25, 2007)