The Forum of the 11th Special Book Award of China and Writing on China and Internationnal Communication Seminar was held in Beijing, Aug 23, 2017. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org]

The Forum of the 11th Special Book Award of China and Writing on China and Internationnal Communication Seminar was held in Beijing on Aug 23.

The winners and representatives of some winners of the award, along with delegates from Chinese universities and publishing houses, attended the workshop.

Set up in 2005 by the Chinese government, the award was dedicated to translators, scholars and publishers who made an outstanding contribution to the study and spread of Chinese culture.

A total of 20 people received the award for 2017. Sixteen of them received the Special Book Award of China award and the remaining four were awarded with the Special Book Award of China for Young Scholars.

Huang Zhuoyue, director of the Chinese Culture Communication and Translation Center, addressed the meeting and said the evaluation criteria of the award developed more categories with a wider coverage, such as the setup of the award for young scholars.

"Chinese Culture Translation and Studies Support (CCTSS.org) could function as a platform for translators and sinologists to communicate and cooperate," he said.

"It will connect scholars, governments and cultural institutions through establishing a publications data base and introducing more Chinese works."

At the seminar, many winners shared translation experiences and introduced their work on the international distribution and promotion of Chinese books.

Albanian translator Iljaz Spahiu, who was one of the winners, said translated works should be more comprehensive, covering many aspects of China.

"Translators need to let readers know more about contemporary Chinese society and culture as well as a modern China," he said.

The forum was hosted by the Chinese Culture Communication and Translation Center, and co-organized by the Chinese Culture Translation and Studies Support (CCTSS.org) group and the China Translation and Publishing House (CTPH).