Hooked on books in Guangzhou
Reading online has become very popular among youngsters in Guangzhou, so much so that people are beginning to stop reading books on paper.
To encourage more people to take up reading books on paper, Guangzhou hosted the South China Book Fair late last month.
The fair was a great success, attracting more than 70,000 visitors on the first day, most of whom were drawn to the event by the release of new books and classic collector's editions.
As an added attraction for visitors, the organisers offered special discounts on book sales. Most books were sold at 20 to 70 per cent off while some English books were sold at a 90 per cent discount.
'This English novel only cost me 10 yuan, which really surprised me,' Chen Jiajun, a pupil from Tianhe Primary School, said.
The organisers also handed out 200,000 free train tickets to encourage people to attend the fair. On August 23, an additional 100,000 tickets were given out. Every person could take up to three train tickets in the Xinhua Bookshop in Guangzhou by showing their identity card.
During the seven-day event, the book fair was jam-packed with book enthusiasts every day. On Saturday, August 21, there were more than 150,000 attendees, while on Sunday the number rose to 170,000. The event was such a success that organisers had to limit the number of visitors on the weekend.
University graduate Yang Yanfei went to the book fair with two friends. 'I like reading but I have little time to read since I have taken up a job. This book fair has put me on the prowl for English books,' Yang said.
Sun Guantian, an avid e-book reader, also visited the book fair on Sunday. 'Although I seldom read hard copies of a book nowadays, I think coming to this yearly event was worth it,' Sun said.
Book fair committee director Jiang Mingtao said this year's fair was a success. 'I anticipate next year's will yield even better results - we may have to enlarge the exhibition area,' Jiang said.
