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Bookworms and literarily inclined night owls in Beijing now have a new place in the city to enjoy their reading downtime. SanlianTaofen Bookstore （STB） in Dongcheng District of Beijing expanded its opening hours to 24 hours from April 8， making it the city’s first 24-hour book store.
STB displays 80，000 titles within a space of 1，500 square meters， and is currently regarded as one of Beijing’s cultural landmarks.
Fan Xi’an， General Manager of the store， borrowed the 24-hour concept from Taiwanese retail chain Eslite Bookstore. “I was thrilled by the large number of readers in Eslite Bookstore at night when I visited Taiwan in 2010，” he said to Xinhua News Agency.
Despite being China’s cultural epicenter， Beijing had lacked somewhere readers could indulge their passion for the printed word around the clock until now. Moreover， the process of having a casual browse in bookstores can often， ironically， be an exhausting one for Beijingers. Most bookstores in the capital do not offer readers chairs to sit down， relax and read a book. Readers therefore have to stand while holding a book and are forced to skim the text quickly.
Many traditional bookstores have faced difficulties owing to their rivals online. Online bookstores have the competitive advantage as they can order books in bulk and are free from the overheads of running a traditional brick-andmortar store. However， the extra costs faced by some local bookstores can now be covered by sponsorship from the government—part of authorities’ broader scheme to subsidize a total of 56 bookstores around China， Xinhua recently reported.
As of the start of this year， traditional bookstores are no longer required to pay valueadded tax， and the government has announced 90 million yuan （$14.6 million） to support 55 operations just like STB， said Fan.
As evening falls， the STB is now crowded with readers and customers. In front of almost every bookshelf， people are sitting or standing， their noses buried in books. The nightlife of Beijingers has been enriched with yet another meaningful cultural practice： that of reading.
Reading matters
Today， China’s press and book market is undergoing an unprecedented boom. In 2012， China published a total of 7.9 billion copies of books in 414，005 categories， ranking it the No. 1 in the world. But a recent survey on the reading situation doesn’t paint as optimistic a picture.
The Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Press and Publication （CAPP） released an annual report on Chinese people’s reading habits on April 21. The report shows that only 57.8 percent of all people read books every day in 2013. CAPP said in the report that last year， the average Chinese adult read 4.77 books. Despite a small rise compared with 4.39 in 2012， the number still falls far below many other countries around the globe. According to statistics from UNESCO， people from Scandinavian countries on average read 24 books a year per person while in the United States seven books a year. In Asia， South Korea comes in first place with 11 books being read per person a year. In China， people like to read books concerning topics such as cookery， health， and baby rearing as well as novels and exam guides. Chinese people on average spend 100 minutes watching television and 45 minutes surfing the Internet every day. The average daily time spent reading books， however， is only 15 minutes.
With regard to self-evaluation of reading quantity， 52.8 percent of respondents admitted that they read very few books last year. One of the main reasons they gave for this was that they have no time to read.
Wang yan， a 37-year-old white collar worker， told Beijing Review， “I’d like to read more books. But I have exhausted all of my energy and time in making a living. Apart from the stress of work， I have to spend hours commuting from home to my office every day. I also need to spend some time with my wife and child on the weekend. In the precious few moments of free time that I have every day， I’m only able to read some news in brief from smartphones or funny posts from social networks.”
In fact， the whole world is faced with similar issues regarding reading and learning in general. As early as 1995， UNESCO designated the date of April 23 of every year as World Book Day， to order to promote the appreciation of books globally. Since then， the day has been observed annually as an international event for promoting reading and publishing in over 100 countries across the world.
Efforts to promote reading
In the information era， reading， perhaps contrary to expectations， is actually receding. China has realized the serious implication of the reading issue.
As World Book Day approached this year， the Beijing Municipal Government rolled up its sleeves to launch the Fourth Beijing Reading Season in April. The inaugural season was launched in 2011， aiming to promote reading among all residents through a series of events. As of this spring， Beijing’s reading season has expanded to become a national-level program for reading.
“The three-month-long reading season is a celebration of reading，” said Wang yijun， Director of Publications of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication， who is also an organizer of this year’s reading season.
“This year， a total of 26 local government departments were involved in organizing the reading season. Universities， primary and middle schools， communities， book stores and libraries in Beijing have all been mobilized and launched a series of events，” Wang said. According to Wang， a total of 6，335 book shops and libraries and 4，495 community reading rooms across the city will offer people convenient conditions， including extended opening times and holding authors events， where fans will get the opportunity to meet their literary heroes. These measures are meant to encourage people to read.
“We hope to build a comprehensive public reading platform for Beijing residents. After years of efforts， the reading season is expected to become a recognizable local cultural brand and a permanent fixture on the capital’s literary calendar， allowing all people to benefit from the program，” Wang said.
Apart from the government， NGOs and volunteers have also been spurred into action. Li yiman， a researcher for the educational organization New Reading Institute， has initiated an activity to promote reading to children. For years， Li has specialized in research on children’s reading habits. In 2010， he organized a team made up of mothers. They hold regular activities every month for parents and children to read books together.
“Several years ago when my wife and I read stories to our child， I realized that reading books together with your children is a good source of education. It is also a good way to sow the seeds of reading in our children’s minds，” Li said.
“My family likes reading printed books. Of course， we don’t reject e-books outright. We simply limit the time we spend reading e-books to protect our eyesight，” Li said.
“When reading together， children will probably ask parents questions about anything they find curious. It is a good time to impart knowledge to and inspire their imagination，” he said.
At weekends and holidays， Li and his team often call a group of families with children to read books together at a library and share their experiences of family education.
Although the time available for reading is insufficient， most of the Chinese people are well aware of the importance of reading. They hope more favorable conditions will be provided for book fans， in addition to events for promoting reading among citizens.
STB displays 80，000 titles within a space of 1，500 square meters， and is currently regarded as one of Beijing’s cultural landmarks.
Fan Xi’an， General Manager of the store， borrowed the 24-hour concept from Taiwanese retail chain Eslite Bookstore. “I was thrilled by the large number of readers in Eslite Bookstore at night when I visited Taiwan in 2010，” he said to Xinhua News Agency.
Despite being China’s cultural epicenter， Beijing had lacked somewhere readers could indulge their passion for the printed word around the clock until now. Moreover， the process of having a casual browse in bookstores can often， ironically， be an exhausting one for Beijingers. Most bookstores in the capital do not offer readers chairs to sit down， relax and read a book. Readers therefore have to stand while holding a book and are forced to skim the text quickly.
Many traditional bookstores have faced difficulties owing to their rivals online. Online bookstores have the competitive advantage as they can order books in bulk and are free from the overheads of running a traditional brick-andmortar store. However， the extra costs faced by some local bookstores can now be covered by sponsorship from the government—part of authorities’ broader scheme to subsidize a total of 56 bookstores around China， Xinhua recently reported.
As of the start of this year， traditional bookstores are no longer required to pay valueadded tax， and the government has announced 90 million yuan （$14.6 million） to support 55 operations just like STB， said Fan.
As evening falls， the STB is now crowded with readers and customers. In front of almost every bookshelf， people are sitting or standing， their noses buried in books. The nightlife of Beijingers has been enriched with yet another meaningful cultural practice： that of reading.
Reading matters
Today， China’s press and book market is undergoing an unprecedented boom. In 2012， China published a total of 7.9 billion copies of books in 414，005 categories， ranking it the No. 1 in the world. But a recent survey on the reading situation doesn’t paint as optimistic a picture.
The Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Press and Publication （CAPP） released an annual report on Chinese people’s reading habits on April 21. The report shows that only 57.8 percent of all people read books every day in 2013. CAPP said in the report that last year， the average Chinese adult read 4.77 books. Despite a small rise compared with 4.39 in 2012， the number still falls far below many other countries around the globe. According to statistics from UNESCO， people from Scandinavian countries on average read 24 books a year per person while in the United States seven books a year. In Asia， South Korea comes in first place with 11 books being read per person a year. In China， people like to read books concerning topics such as cookery， health， and baby rearing as well as novels and exam guides. Chinese people on average spend 100 minutes watching television and 45 minutes surfing the Internet every day. The average daily time spent reading books， however， is only 15 minutes.
With regard to self-evaluation of reading quantity， 52.8 percent of respondents admitted that they read very few books last year. One of the main reasons they gave for this was that they have no time to read.
Wang yan， a 37-year-old white collar worker， told Beijing Review， “I’d like to read more books. But I have exhausted all of my energy and time in making a living. Apart from the stress of work， I have to spend hours commuting from home to my office every day. I also need to spend some time with my wife and child on the weekend. In the precious few moments of free time that I have every day， I’m only able to read some news in brief from smartphones or funny posts from social networks.”
In fact， the whole world is faced with similar issues regarding reading and learning in general. As early as 1995， UNESCO designated the date of April 23 of every year as World Book Day， to order to promote the appreciation of books globally. Since then， the day has been observed annually as an international event for promoting reading and publishing in over 100 countries across the world.
Efforts to promote reading
In the information era， reading， perhaps contrary to expectations， is actually receding. China has realized the serious implication of the reading issue.
As World Book Day approached this year， the Beijing Municipal Government rolled up its sleeves to launch the Fourth Beijing Reading Season in April. The inaugural season was launched in 2011， aiming to promote reading among all residents through a series of events. As of this spring， Beijing’s reading season has expanded to become a national-level program for reading.
“The three-month-long reading season is a celebration of reading，” said Wang yijun， Director of Publications of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication， who is also an organizer of this year’s reading season.
“This year， a total of 26 local government departments were involved in organizing the reading season. Universities， primary and middle schools， communities， book stores and libraries in Beijing have all been mobilized and launched a series of events，” Wang said. According to Wang， a total of 6，335 book shops and libraries and 4，495 community reading rooms across the city will offer people convenient conditions， including extended opening times and holding authors events， where fans will get the opportunity to meet their literary heroes. These measures are meant to encourage people to read.
“We hope to build a comprehensive public reading platform for Beijing residents. After years of efforts， the reading season is expected to become a recognizable local cultural brand and a permanent fixture on the capital’s literary calendar， allowing all people to benefit from the program，” Wang said.
Apart from the government， NGOs and volunteers have also been spurred into action. Li yiman， a researcher for the educational organization New Reading Institute， has initiated an activity to promote reading to children. For years， Li has specialized in research on children’s reading habits. In 2010， he organized a team made up of mothers. They hold regular activities every month for parents and children to read books together.
“Several years ago when my wife and I read stories to our child， I realized that reading books together with your children is a good source of education. It is also a good way to sow the seeds of reading in our children’s minds，” Li said.
“My family likes reading printed books. Of course， we don’t reject e-books outright. We simply limit the time we spend reading e-books to protect our eyesight，” Li said.
“When reading together， children will probably ask parents questions about anything they find curious. It is a good time to impart knowledge to and inspire their imagination，” he said.
At weekends and holidays， Li and his team often call a group of families with children to read books together at a library and share their experiences of family education.
Although the time available for reading is insufficient， most of the Chinese people are well aware of the importance of reading. They hope more favorable conditions will be provided for book fans， in addition to events for promoting reading among citizens.