Harbin Wins "City of Poetry in China" Title

On March 21, as the world celebrated the 26th World Poetry Day, Harbin University hosted the awarding ceremony for "City of Poetry in China" along with a poetry event titled "Welcoming Spring with Poetry." The Poetry Institute of China officially granted Harbin the prestigious "City of Poetry in China" honor, making it the first sub-provincial city to receive this national recognition. During the ceremony, the institute also designated Harbin University as a "Poetry Education Campus." Distinguished attendees included Yang Ke, President of the Poetry Institute of China, and Mu Ting, Standing Council Member and Deputy Secretary-General.

In his speech, Yang Ke highlighted Harbin's profound literary heritage. He noted that renowned writers such as Liang Xiaosheng and Chi Zijian, who were born or lived in Harbin, are beloved by readers. Female writers like Xiao Hong, Chi Zijian, Yang Zhihan, and Zhang Kangkang have left a deep impression on readers and embody poetic sensibility. Additionally, Harbin has been publishing the poetry journal titled Poems Forest for decades, ranking among China's eight most prestigious poetry publications. Unlike The Star Poetry Monthly in Sichuan or Yangtze River Poetry Journal in Jiangsu, which are operated by provincial writers' associations, Poems Forest is overseen by the Harbin Federation of Literary and Art Circles and published by Harbin Literature Academy. Contemporary Harbin has produced many outstanding poets, including Ye Yanbin, former director of the Poetry Committee of the China Writers Association; Li Qi, winner of the Lu Xun Literary Award; as well as Zhang Shuguang, Feng Yan, and Sang Ke, all celebrated poets in China. Poetry exists not just as text, but as lived experience. Harbin's urban character, spiritual ethos, and civic living spaces are deeply poetic. The city's architecture and the Ice and Snow World landscape are frozen poetry, while the song On Sun Island embodies a poetic space.

Sun Jianwei, Party Secretary of the Municipal Federation of Literary and Art Circles, elaborated on Harbin's designation as a "City of Poetry." He stated that Harbin boasts a long-standing poetic tradition with an intact cultural lineage, where diverse poetic expressions flourish and poetry-related endeavors thrive vibrantly. In recent years, with strong support from the municipal Party committee and the Poetry Institute of China, the Federation has leveraged poetry publications to amplify the city's cultural influence, established local poetry brands to enhance the development of ice-and-snow culture, and fostered campus poetry education to promote youth engagement - ensuring poetry's innovative evolution and renewed vitality in cultural heritage preservation. The successful creation of the "City of Poetry in China" will undoubtedly inaugurate a new chapter in Harbin's poetic and cultural prosperity. The Federation will seize this opportunity to refine mechanisms supporting poetry development, intensify efforts in cultivating talent and establishing creative bases, advance public poetry education and campus poetry culture, and expand the impact of signature events like the "Sun Island Ice-Snow Poetry Festival", in order to harness greater spiritual strength for the city's development by integrating poetry with urban culture.

Looking ahead, the Federation will further leverage its role to enrich the city with poetry and inspire its people. It will produce more works celebrating the era and praising China, establish enduring poetry brands, and vigorously promote poetic culture to burnish the "City of Poetry in China" identity. These efforts will contribute to China's poetry development, cultural prosperity, and the nation's cultural strength, showcasing Harbin's unique role in this mission.（harbin.gov.cn）