Participants of the Grand Canal Reading Campaign pose for a group photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Grand Canal Reading Campaign, hosted by the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Tongzhou District, Beijing, came to the Shen Jiaben Historical and Cultural Park in Huzhou, Zhejiang province on May 21, 2022.

Since its launch in Tongzhou, Beijing on April 22, the event has been held in nine cities - Beijing, Jiaxing, Suzhou, Handan, Suzhou, Huzhou, Huai'an, Ningbo, and Suqian. It will be held in cities such as Xinxiang, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Changzhou, Shaoxing, and Tianjin in the future.

Born in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, Shen Jiaben was responsible for revising several codes, leading to the abolition of barbaric punishments like "slow slicing" (lingchi). He is recognized as a pioneer in China's legal modernization efforts.