Thousands of book lovers queued up on Wednesday and filed into the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as the 33rd Hong Kong Book Fair kicked off.

The flagship book event was seen as a unique symbol of Hong Kong's culture and a significant platform for the city to profile itself as a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

The seven-day fair, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, will run through Tuesday and feature more than 600 cultural activities, including talks, seminars and workshops.

The fair features eight seminar series and has attracted a star-studded lineup, including Hong Kong singers Elizabeth Wang Ming-chuen and Alan Tam Wing-lun, and Chinese mainland writers Yu Hua, Xu Zhiyuan and Ma Boyong, who will give speeches.

This year, the book fair has adopted the tagline "Reading the World: The Joy of Reading for Children &Youth", with a focus on literature for children and young adults. In addition, this year's book fair has introduced a brand-new art exhibition zone called the World of Art and Culture featuring children's literature from over 25 countries and regions.

Yang Bo, a 36-year-old marketing director who has attended the fair 10 times, said he was extra excited about this year's event.

Yang, who works in the cultural sector, said he was eager to visit the newly introduced World of Art and Culture exhibition zone as he wanted to learn how to combine literature and art more effectively.

In his view, the book fair is a significant platform for the city's lofty goal of becoming a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the outside world. It also offers people a chance to take a break from the hectic demands of daily life and enjoy the pleasure of reading.

Jonah Law, a physician, attended the book fair with his 11-year-old son. The event was an opportunity to encourage his child's interest in reading, Law said, adding that they spent the whole morning scouring the fair for interesting books, with his son particularly drawn to science magazines.

Mike Wong contributed to this story.