2016.10.31

On October 30, 2016, Times • Home, the Marketing Center of Times Property located on the sixth floor of Grandview Mall, presented a spectacular parent-child reading session for Guangzhou's book lovers. The activity, jointly organized by Oxford University Press and the M365 Library Project, marked the debut of the "Urban Parent-Child Reading Workshop" program in Guangzhou as well as the official launch of the public welfare project jointly promoted by Times • Home and the two organizers.

Coincidentally, the event was held on the third anniversary of M365cake, which introduced a great variety of French afternoon tea refreshments, including such new products as Bavaria •Silk and MOF Roll. Book lovers experienced the timeless joy of reading amid the decidedly artistic atmosphere created by Times • Home.

M365cake, since its founding three years ago, has served as "the creator and leader of Guangzhou’s most exquisite cake culture." The company has worked in partnership with many art halls and museums, such as the Guangzhou Opera House, the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and Times • Home, giving M365 members a wealth of opportunities to participate in artistic interactions.

The Library Project is a public-welfare organization dedicated to the spread of literacy in rural areas. Since its establishment in 2006, it has been committed to the improvement of extracurricular reading education and the cultivation of reading as a healthy, enriching habit for primary school students in poverty-stricken areas of China and the Asian Pacific. Since May of this year, the Library Project has cooperated with Oxford University Press, the world’s largest university-associated publisher, in carrying out the Urban Parent-Child Reading Workshop, having achieved great results in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. This was the first time the workshop, as well as Bill Bowler, a well-known language teaching expert with Oxford University Press, had visited Guangzhou for the purpose of sharing experiences in parent-child reading.

Ms. Christine Wang, fund-raising director and chairman of the Library Project Council, presided over the workshop, during which Bill guided 15 parent-child groups in reading. Little book lovers delighted in the Oxford University Press' illustrated English storybook, The Rope Swing, and parents learned the secrets of parent-child reading. Some parents said the gathering not only helped them realize the significance of good reading habits for children’s growth but also were surprised by the state of children’s reading in China’s rural areas. They added that the opportunity to know more about public welfare at a tender age through learning will contribute to the children's future development.

Times • Home, the marketing center for all development projects of Times Property--which has been dedicated to "helping more people achieve the life to which they can look forward"--was strongly supportive of the activity. Accordingly, in order to allow busy city dwellers to experience the warmth of children's reading, continuously improve their literary attainment and scholarly temperament, and wake up the sleeping "kingdom of rational knowledge," Times • Home will launch the "Times Reading Season" activity, open to book lovers around the globe with more than 100 classic works chosen from the nearly 20,000 books in the library at Times • Home. A new book-borrowing system will be adopted so that more people can lead a cultural life. With a deposit of just RMB 68 at the Times Property store on Taobao, one can borrow two books per month at no additional charge.

"We believe in the power of reading and education, and we hope that more Guangzhou people will involve themselves in the Times • Home "Times Reading Season" activity and focus on cultivating reading habits." "Books are the ladder of human progress." We believe our cooperation with M365cake can build the ladder with which children in impoverished areas can gain more access to reading, just as their counterparts in urban areas do.