The opening ceremony of the 2012 Beijing International Book Festival took place in Ditan Park, Beijing, on the morning of May 18, 2012. [CRI English.com]

The 10th Beijing International Book Festival opened today in Beijing's Ditan Park with a number of foreign countries in attendance exhibiting their works.

Each year, the Beijing Book Fair, often referred to as the Ditan book fair, attracts huge numbers of Beijing citizens as they come looking to buy books and enjoy the atmosphere at this event which celebrates culture and knowledge.

This year was particularly important for the Ditan book fair due to the international nature of the books on offer.

Poland, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Italy set up stalls in order to introduce their country's books and culture to the citizens of Beijing.

Theodore Georgakelos, the Greek ambassador to China, and his wife stand in front of Greece's booth in the cultural exchange zone at the 2012 Beijing International Book Festival. [CRI English.com]

Mr. Theodore Georgakelos, the Greek ambassador to China believes that the book fair is a good opportunity for cultural exchange between China and Greece. He said:

"We wanted to even more deepen our cultural relations with the Chinese republic. This is a relation that existed very vivid, but we wanted to extend it even more. Many books of Ancient and Modern Greek literature are translated into Chinese and are taught even in universities of China. We wanted to continue and deepen this knowledge. Because we firmly believe that the cultural exchanges is the best solidifying factor of good and friendly relations. And with China who has also a very long tradition and very long history, the exchanges are very strong and we want to keep and develop them even more."

With this year's theme being 'Wonderful Reading, Elegant Beijing', the 10th Beijing International Book Festival exhibits more than 300 thousand books, videos and audio products. It will last from the 18th to the 27th of May.