thesilkroadtoday
Hong Kong literary publication highlights the Egyptian writer, reinforcing cultural dialogue and literary exchange between Asia and the Arab world.
HONG KONG / CAIRO — October 24, 2026
The latest edition of Hong Kong Literature and Arts Magazine has featured Egyptian poet, novelist, translator, and journalist Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, also known by his literary name Ashraf Dali, on its back cover, bringing renewed international attention to his literary career and his longstanding commitment to building bridges between cultures through literature and translation.
Published by Hong Kong Literature and Arts Publishing House, the magazine is a major literary periodical authorized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. It serves Chinese-language literary communities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Chinese communities around the world. The publication is distributed internationally, reflecting its ambition to connect writers, intellectuals, and readers across geographical and cultural boundaries.
The new edition, identified as Issue No. 15 in the supplied index, continues the magazine’s engagement with contemporary literature and the arts. Its publication details reflect an extensive editorial and advisory network involving distinguished writers, poets, critics, and cultural figures.
A Literary Presence from Egypt
The appearance of Ashraf Aboul-Yazid on the back cover represents a notable moment of international literary visibility for the Egyptian writer, whose work spans poetry, fiction, translation, journalism, travel writing, and children’s literature.
With a career shaped by encounters with diverse literary traditions, Aboul-Yazid has consistently explored the connections between cultural memory, identity, history, and the human experience. His writing and editorial activities have contributed to bringing Arabic literature into conversation with other literary traditions, particularly those of Asia and along the historic Silk Road.
He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Silk Road Literature Series, launched in Cairo in 2016, and editor-in-chief of The Silk Road Today. Through these initiatives, he has championed literary translation and international collaboration, helping introduce readers to writers and cultures that remain underrepresented in global literary exchange.
His literary contributions extend beyond his own creative work. As a translator and cultural journalist, he has devoted considerable attention to introducing international writers to Arabic-speaking audiences and encouraging dialogue among literary communities across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Arab world.
Literature as a Bridge Between Cultures
Aboul-Yazid’s appearance in the Hong Kong publication resonates with the broader significance of literary exchange between Egypt and the Chinese-speaking world. Literature offers a space in which different histories, languages, and artistic sensibilities can meet, creating opportunities for mutual understanding beyond political and geographical boundaries.
For a writer whose career has been closely associated with the exploration of the Silk Road’s cultural legacy, the feature also reflects the continuing relevance of literary networks connecting Asia and Africa.
The historic Silk Road was not merely a route for commerce; it was also a channel through which stories, philosophies, artistic traditions, and ideas travelled between civilizations. Contemporary literary initiatives continue this legacy by creating new opportunities for writers to encounter one another through translation, publishing, and international cultural cooperation.
Aboul-Yazid’s participation in this wider literary dialogue reflects his conviction that translation does more than transfer words from one language to another: it allows literary works to acquire new lives in different cultural environments.
An International Editorial Platform
The magazine’s editorial and advisory structure includes a broad group of established literary and cultural figures. Its listed consultants include prominent Chinese writers and poets, among them Zhang Wei, Zhang Chengzhi, Mai Jia, Li Er, Liu Jianwei, Jidi Majia, Can Xue, and Wang Jiaxin, alongside international literary voices.
The publication’s leadership includes Editor-in-Chief Tan Yantong, with Yang Haitai and Li Jiangying serving as deputy chief editors. Its cover artwork is identified in the supplied index as an oil painting by Tan Yantong, titled The Moment You See Hong Kong.
These details situate the magazine within a literary environment that brings together writing, visual art, editorial collaboration, and international cultural engagement.
Published by Hong Kong Literature and Arts Publishing House and edited by Hong Kong Literature and Arts Magazine, the periodical carries the international standard serial number ISSN 2618-0839. According to the supplied publication information, its listed price is HKD 98 in Hong Kong and CNY 68 in mainland China.
Continuing the Dialogue
The appearance of an Egyptian literary figure in a Hong Kong arts publication underscores the importance of international platforms that allow writers to cross linguistic and cultural boundaries.
For Aboul-Yazid, whose literary and editorial work has consistently sought connections among cultures, this feature offers another opportunity to strengthen the presence of Arabic literature within international conversations.
At a time when cultural understanding requires sustained dialogue and meaningful cooperation, the meeting of Egyptian literary creativity and Hong Kong’s publishing landscape provides a reminder that literature remains one of the most enduring ways to bring people closer together.
Through poetry, fiction, translation, and cultural journalism, writers such as Ashraf Aboul-Yazid continue to demonstrate that the journey of literature does not end with publication in its original language. It continues wherever readers encounter a new voice, discover another culture, and recognize something of their own humanity in the experience of others.
Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid is an Egyptian poet, novelist, journalist, translator, and literary critic whose career spans more than three decades of cultural engagement across Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. A recipient of the Great Poetry Movement Medal, he has authored more than 40 books encompassing poetry, fiction, biography, literary criticism, and children’s literature, and has translated eight books in art, children’s literature, poetry, and science, including Cao Shui’s Epic of Eurasia. He has served as Secretary-General of the Congress of African Journalists (CAJ) since 2024 and as President of the Asia Journalist Association (AJA) from 2016 to 2024. From 2002 to 2016, he was Secretary-General of the Arab Cultural Annual Forum in Kuwait. A member of the Egyptian Writers’ Union, he has received numerous international honors, including the Sawiris Cultural Award for Children’s Literature in Egypt, the Gold Award at the Eurasian Literary Festival in Istanbul, the Arab Journalism Award in Culture in the UAE, the Manhae Literature Prize in South Korea, and the title of Cultural Personality of the Year in Tatarstan, Russia. Through his writing, journalism, and translation, Aboul-Yazid has dedicated his career to building bridges between cultures and bringing the literary voices of diverse nations into dialogue.
