SHENZHEN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The 28th National Book Expo kicked-off in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Thursday.

As a key platform for China's publishing industry, the four-day expo has attracted over 800 publishing units from across the country, with more than one million books on display and more than 400 cultural activities.

"As this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up drive, the expo is sure to promote publishing industry reform and accelerate high-quality development," said Zhuang Rongwen, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the State Administration of Press and Publication.

Held in Shenzhen, the pioneering city of China's reform and opening-up, the book expo is also "conducive to building a book-loving society," Zhuang said.