Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong (center) and South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Choi Kwang-Sik (right) launch the Beijing International Book Fair at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, August 28, 2012. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]

An international book fair encouraging intensive reading and exchanges to improve understandings of other countries, opened Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

More than 2,000 publishing houses from 75 countries and regions are participating in the 19th Beijing International Book Fair which runs until September 2, making it the largest-ever in terms of scale in the book fair's history.

The fair is devoting a great amount of publicity to Beijing, as the event's host city. In addition, South Korea will be featured as the guest country at this year's event, so readers can enhance their knowledge of the local culture.

Meanwhile, an awards ceremony has been held on the sidelines for those who have made remarkable contributions to promoting cultural exchanges between China and other nations. Six people have been selected for awards, including famous German translator Monika Motsch who translated "Fortress Besieged," a novel by Chinese literary scholar and writer Qian Zhongshu, into German.

Motsch said she recently completed the translation of "We Three," the memoirs of Chinese playwright Yang Jiang.

Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong and South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Choi Kwang-Sik attended the opening ceremony.