Bookstores face an unhappy ending

Two visitors read e-books at the 17th Beijing International Book Fair in this file photo taken August 30. (Source: China Daily/Su Luzhang)Online rivals could drive temples of literature into oblivion.

The digital age may close the book on bookstores. The final chapter approaches for many of these temples of literature, where enlightenment was just a page away and young and old spent entire afternoons buried deep in concentration.

That was another era. Today, the country's bookstores need a miracle if they are to survive the next 10 years, many believe.

Thanks to rising rents and the boom in discount Internet deals, just half of the independent bookshops doing business in 2000 are still open, according to figures from the China Booksellers and Publishers Association.

And about 80 percent of those left will also bite the dust within a decade, predicted Cai Ling, a culture and communications analyst with Zhongtou Consultants in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

So, is the end really nigh for the traditional bookstore? According to publishing industry experts, yes and no.

Although most contacted by China Daily agreed stores need urgently to modernize and diversify, many added that only by harnessing the power of the Web will more businesses stay afloat.

"Bookstores can't survive if they ignore the power of the Internet," said Guo Zhiying, manager of the Guangzhou branch of the China National Publications Import and Export Corporation. "The key is finding a solution on how to work together."


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