Dianzhong New Area's Party and Mass Work Department announced on April 13 that, on April 23, Dian Zhong New Area will join forces with Sichuan Tianfu New Area, Dalian Jinpu New Area, Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, and four other national-level new areas — eight in total across the country — to launch the “Multi-City Linkage, Shared Reading” 2026 Reading Marathon Challenge. Through cloud-based simultaneous reading, the event aims to break geographical boundaries and build a high-quality platform for sharing regional cultural resources.

The competition adopts an innovative two-stage model of reading followed by a quiz. Ten days before the event, the organizing committee will announce a list of 10 selected books, which readers can access online for free by scanning a QR code to register. On April 23, participants will use a dedicated link to answer 100 randomly generated questions in a timed online quiz. Rankings will be determined based on accuracy and completion time. Winners will have the chance to receive customized cultural souvenirs and cultural tourism gift packages from each new area.

According to the event's organizing committee, the 10 high-quality books span politics, history, culture, literature, and natural sciences. The selection includes patriotic and core-value-focused readings such as The History of the Communist Party of China for Youth and Salute to Lei Feng, as well as works that delve into regional culture like Da Liaohe, Tracing the Old Garden: The Ancient City of Dalian, and Old Kunming (Republic of China Nostalgia). Also featured are documentary works offering insights into urban development, such as Chengdu Under the Microscope and Reinventing Lanzhou. Readers can access the online reading room free of charge by scanning the QR code.

This reading marathon is not only a contest of knowledge but also a cultural journey. After the challenge concludes, the organizers will leverage the rich cultural and tourism resources of the participating new areas to plan and launch cross-regional cultural promotion activities. Using reading as a bond, the initiative will showcase local cultural landmarks and reading spaces, contributing to the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry in the new areas. (Kunming Daily, reporter Li Shuangshuang)

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(Editors: Jennifer, Rachel)