[Video/chinadaily.com.cn]

The centuries-old Chinese tradition of "shai shu", or airing books for preservation and sharing, came to life on Aug 19 at the Confucius Museum in Qufu, Shandong province.

The Shandong main event of the 2026 traditional Chinese festival of book airing featured a ceremony honoring Confucius, themed exhibitions, rare book displays and hand-on cultural activities, offering visitors a closer look at China's rich cultural heritage.

Aug 19 marked this year's Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the traditional Chinese calendar. The day has long been associated with the custom of "shai shu", when people traditionally aired their books and shared them with others.

As one of the key initiators of the first Chinese traditional book airing festival in 2019, the Confucius Museum has hosted the event for eight consecutive years, helping raise public awareness of the importance of preserving ancient texts.

Two themed exhibitions, "Honoring the Sage: The Kangxi Emperor's Visit to Qufu" and "Illustrations of the Life of Confucius", also opened during this year's event.