Commuters in Shanghai and London can enjoy poetry in motion from next month.

More than 500 posters displaying works by four famous English poets are to be displayed in some trains of Shanghai's underground system.

In return, underground lines in the capital of England will feature more than 2,000 posters carrying masterpieces of four Chinese poets, according to the Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General in Shanghai yesterday.

Cultural officials from both sides are still discussing exact details of the exchange program, Poems on the Underground.

"We will launch the program in middle or late February. The display of poems will last for at least one month," said Bonnie Hua, public relations officer with the British consulate.

Four English poems have been chosen. They are "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake, "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth, "Butterfly" by Michael Bullock and "The Blue Boat" by Kathleen Jamie.

The Chinese poems are still yet to be selected. The four pieces will be from works by famous poets in Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Li Bai and Bai Juyi, two most talented poets from the dynasty, are among the favourites, said Hua.

Both the original and translated versions of the poems will be displayed to enable people from both countries to better appreciate the beauty of the poems, she said.

Chen Kai, an employee with a foreign-funded company in Shanghai, who takes the metro to work almost every day, said: "I think it is a cool idea to have English poems in the subway. Shanghai should have the courage to accommodate other cultures."

Another middle-aged passenger, surnamed Chen, told China Daily that there should be more such posters displayed outdoors in Shanghai.

"People here are all eager for quick success and instant benefit, especially the youngsters. Poems can improve their thinking and sentiment," he said.

(China Daily January 12, 2006)