Sharjah: The Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH) has taken its Chinese-language catalogue to Beijing this week, using the city's international book fair to sign a new translation deal and showcase a decade of work building readership in China. The Institute is part of the "Al Bait Al Emarati" pavilion at the 32nd Beijing International Book Fair, which runs from 17 to 21 June at the China National Convention Center and sees the UAE as guest of honour this year.

Chinese-language titles take centre stage

Among the translated works on display are A Decade of Heritage, A Guide to Organisations, Cultural Heritage in the UAE, Historian of the Age, Maldivia: The Island of Light, and Popular Culture. The Institute has also brought titles aimed squarely at introducing Chinese readers to Arab and Emirati culture, among them The Era of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad; and Chinese Foods.

The books are part of a translation programme that has now produced more than 50 titles across multiple languages, ten of which are in Chinese.

New deal with Zhejiang publisher

On the fair's second day, the institute is signing a partnership agreement with Zhejiang Literature & Art Publishing House to translate and distribute the Encyclopaedia of Heritage Creatures, putting Emirati folklore into Chinese for the first time and giving the two sides a fresh project to work on together.

"China is an important cultural partner"

Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, said the work in Beijing builds on relationships that go back years rather than being a new push into the Chinese market. "We see China as an important cultural partner," he said, adding that the institute has spent years building these ties through translation, publication, and academic exchange. The aim, he said, is straightforward: get Emirati heritage onto the shelves and into the classrooms of Chinese institutions.

More than 1,250 titles on show

The Institute's stand carries more than 1,250 titles in total, spanning cultural heritage, oral history and specialist research, built up over years of work. Dr Al Musallam said the breadth of material reflects Sharjah's approach to using books and translation to reach new readers and that heritage now plays a bigger part than ever in how the emirate connects with audiences abroad.