Shanghai Book Fair stresses importance of reading

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This year’s Shanghai Book Fair is now under way, an annual event aimed at making "reading" a popular topic. (Photo/Xinhua)

This year’s Shanghai Book Fair is now under way, an annual event aimed at making "reading" a popular topic. Publishers and bookstore managers at the fair say they are working hard to get people back to reading serious books, at a time when many prefer something quick and light. But they say they are optimistic about the future.

How much time do you spend reading every day? The local publication authority asked that question in a survey done before the fair opened. It found that Shanghai residents spend an average of half an hour reading every day. But still, nearly 10 percent of the people surveyed say they hardly ever read anything. Xu Yanping graduated from a local high school in 2012. This is her first time visiting the book fair, because she says last year, she was too busy to read.

Xu said, "Last year, I was busy preparing for the college entrance exams. So I didn’t have any time to read anything. Since I have more time now, I want to take a good look around the book fair to buy some books I like."

She can choose from 150,000 titles of all kinds. But some people are only interested in one or two areas.

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