Nearly 2,000 people attended the opening ceremony of a hall dedicated to Chinese culture Tuesday evening at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest book and copyright trading platform.

This year's event, which closed Sunday, featured China as the guest of honor. Headlined "Tradition and Innovation," a total of 612 wide-ranging programs presented Chinese culture and literature to the world.

A girl climbs over a Chinese movable type exhibit during the 61st Frankfurt Book Fair on Saturday.

Liu Binjie, minister of China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, signed an agreement in Beijing on May 31, 2007 to make the event happen.

The Chinese-themed hall presented an overall view of Chinese literature in four sections: The coming into being of written characters; the invention of paper as a writing medium; the invention of print; and contemporary publications.

Featuring images of the earliest prints and a drop of ink at the center of the hall, the exhibition also illustrated for visitors the Chinese sense of art and beauty.

Liu, making a speech at the ceremony, said the exhibition was aimed at presenting 5,000 years of Chinese culture, as well as the innovative spirit of contemporary China.

"Books are the perpetual memory of human beings, the carriers of civilization, a shortcut to progress and a bridge between various nations and cultures," he said.

The official said China felt honored to have been given this chance to showcase its history and culture.