UK book stores have launched a scheme that dedicates shelves to Chinese books, in a bid to introduce the country's culture and literature to British readers.

The "China Bookshelf" project was launched at Foyles bookshop on Tuesday as part of the second London China Book Festival, which runs from 22 October to 8 November.

More than 100 Chinese books were curated by British publishing experts, with themes ranging from politics to culture and from literature to lifestyle.

Carmelo Puglisi, who selected books for the project for Foyles Bookshop, said: "Today is more about bringing Chinese culture, arts, philosophy and literature to the UK. In the UK, there isn't that much so we want to bring more Chinese books to the country."

"At the moment we have over 30 books that come from China. They are mostly on arts, literature and philosophy. We plan to expand even more in the next few years. By next year, it will expand to the whole area, to about 500 books," Puglisi said.

As well as Foyles, the China Bookshelf project will feature permanently in large UK chains including Waterstones, and Blackwell's, as well as bookstores in the British Museum and British Library.

"The China Bookshelf is a strong and positive step forward. It takes Chinese culture to the West," said Vafa Payman, managing director of publisher Bloomsbury China. "I can see the great breadth of Chinese culture is now being made available to the reading public of the UK."