According to a recent report in Macao Daily News, The Flavors of Macao, an original urban-culture picture book created by Guo Shaoqing (pen name "Xiaosu"), Research Fellow at the Institute of Global Megacity Governance of Shenzhen University (a Guangdong Social Science Popularization Base) and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, has been shortlisted in the professional category of the International Illustration Competition of the 32nd Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) 2026.
The BIBF is the world's second-largest international book fair, and its International Illustration Competition is among the most influential professional illustration competitions in Asia. This year's competition attracted creators from 58 countries and regions, received 18,286 entries, and shortlisted 182 works in the end. The winners will be officially announced at the "Illustration Night" award ceremony to be held in Beijing on June 19, 2026.
The Flavors of Macao was published in Macao, China, in 2026. Through a child's eyes, the book presents the city's distinctive blend of Chinese and Western cultures and its humanistic charm. Using the picture book as a public cultural medium to tell the city's stories, the work explores innovative pathways for communicating urban culture and promoting children's reading.
In recent years, Associate Professor Guo Shaoqing has continued to create picture books that popularize urban culture, committed to communicating urban culture and local memory through children's reading. Her works have been exhibited at the Beijing International Book Fair, the Bologna Book Fair in Italy, and the Hong Kong Book Fair (Hong Kong, China), and have been shortlisted for major children's literature and picture book awards at home and abroad, including the Scholastic Picture Book Award (Singapore), the Macao International Children's Literature Award, the Hsin Yi Picture Book Award (Shanghai), and the Hsin Yi Young Children's Literature Award (Taiwan, China). Some outstanding works have been translated into English and Russian and published in Canada, Russia, and other countries.
Figure 1: Associate Professor Guo Shaoqing (first from right) in conversation with Yuan Xiaofeng, an outstanding principal of Shenzhen schools, at the launch event of Our Homeland: A Picture Book of Traditional Chinese Dwellings
Figure 2: Associate Professor Guo Shaoqing (sixth from left) in a group photo with Yang Jian (seventh from left), Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, and others.
Figure 3: Associate Professor Guo Shaoqing (second from right) receives the shortlist award for Picture Book Text Creation at the 15th Hsin Yi Picture Book Award.
Figures 4 and 5: Works by Associate Professor Guo Shaoqing win book awards in Macao, China, and Singapore.
The shortlisting of The Flavors of Macao in an international competition marks another achievement in her work on communicating urban culture. The work not only demonstrates the communicative value of original urban picture books, but also reflects her sustained engagement in the research field of urban politics and governance and her active exploration of serving the cultural development of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and advancing innovation in urban culture communication through a series of outstanding works on urban culture.
Written by: Li Wenxiu, Guo Shaoqing
Layout: He Gengyi
First Review: Zeng Yang
Second Review: Yuan Chao
Final Review: Gu Zhijun
