Winter may give us an impression of desolation and solitude. However, winter in the south, especially after facing numerous challenges in 2020, exudes an unusual wave of warmth. This reminds us of the poem ‘Plum Blossoms’ by Wang Anshi: ‘Several plum trees around the wall put on a show./ They are the only ones blooming in the bitter cold./ I know from the distance they are not snow./ For their faint fragrance finds its way to my nose.’ We believe that the same determination that a plum blossom shows as it persists in difficult times, and quietly waits for spring to come has already been rooted in the hearts of Macao people, who have made their every effort in fighting against the Covid-19 epidemic, and reviving the local economy.

Have you neglected people or things around while you devoted yourself to bring back the old face of Macao? Have you ever thought of family reading activities as a simple and effective way  to connect two generations and enhance family relationships? Under the theme of ‘Fun Reading for Children’, the ‘Feature’ section of this issue looks into the cultivation of reading culture among children in Macao, in which we can gain a better understanding of how family reading, and its market are being developed in the city from insiders working in relevant associations and in educational circles.

The ‘Author’s Say’ section features an interview with the creative team behind the book Story of Women Workers in Macau Garment Industry. It is not the first documentary book that the Artistry of Wind Box Community Development Association has ever published, but this time it is more like a challenge of publishing an oral history book in the ‘2.0 era’. ‘Library Handbook’ introduces the Database of Foreign Language Periodicals Collection, a database that you should make good use of, if you want to enrich and display your knowledge of the past and the present. ‘Library Portrait’ features the staff working at the Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau Library, a library which is unknown to many people. How mysterious! You will find all the answers in this issue of Books and the City.

Last but not least, let us make a wish together in the transition between the old and the new: may reading make Macao a better place, and create a better world in 2021.