China Focus: China fosters book-loving society with strong institutional support

BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- One winter day, as writer Xu Kun raced to meet a deadline, she received a neighborhood notice announcing a temporary power outage. She turned to her residents' chat group to ask if anyone could recommend a nearby place with heating and internet access where she could read and write.

At her neighbors' suggestion, Xu made her way to a local cultural center located over 1 km away. The four-story public facility housed a library, a cinema and training spaces, all well equipped and free to the public. Yet every seat in the second-floor library was already taken.

"It wasn't until then that I realized that even with such public reading spaces, supply still couldn't meet demand," Xu said.

Her experience reflects a broader reality highlighted in China's newly released Regulation on the Promotion of Nationwide Reading, which calls on governments at all levels to expand reading facilities, improve services and create a more supportive reading environment.

The regulation, which was promulgated by the State Council last December and will take effect on Feb. 1, is a part of China's drive to cultivate a book-loving society and a socialist cultural powerhouse.

EMBEDDING READING IN DAILY LIFE

The continuity of Chinese civilization for over five millennia is closely tied to a long-standing reverence for learning and reading. In recent years, however, fragmented reading habits and utilitarian approaches to reading have raised concerns.

The regulation aims to foster a society in which reading is widely valued, well-guided and deeply embedded in daily life. It designates the fourth week of April each year as national reading week, encouraging reading activities nationwide.

Legal experts emphasize that it is an administrative regulation aimed at "safeguarding and promoting nationwide reading." Rather than regulating individuals, it places responsibility on governments at all levels to ensure the necessary conditions for reading.

"By clearly defining responsibilities through administrative regulation, it provides strong institutional support for a nationwide reading promotion system that is inclusive, equitable and efficient," said Wu Shulin, chairman of the Publishers Association of China.

The regulation requires governments at or above the county level to include funding for reading promotion in their budgets. It also encourages government offices, schools, enterprises and public institutions to establish various reading facilities, while calling on bookstores to upgrade their reading environments and organize related activities.

"The vitality of reading lies in accessibility," said Feng Shixin, president of the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication. This regulation helps integrate reading into everyday life, allowing people to experience reading as a natural part of life, he added.

The regulation encourages public venues such as railway stations, airports and shopping malls to install reading facilities. Parks and tourist attractions are also encouraged to provide suitable reading spaces where conditions permit.

Some cities have already made initial attempts. In Sanya, in the southern island province of Hainan, a seaside book fair allows visitors to read on the beach, blending natural scenery with cultural engagement. In cities such as Beijing and Wuhan, libraries have been introduced into subway stations, where commuters can scan QR codes to access quality books for free.

In the future, more urban reading rooms, community libraries and digital platforms are expected to emerge, making reading facilities increasingly ubiquitous.

PROMOTING READING FOR ALL

The regulation places special emphasis on protecting the reading rights of minors, senior citizens and people with disabilities, stressing the importance of providing services tailored to their needs.

For minors, parents and other guardians are encouraged to lead by example by promoting family and parent-child reading, helping young readers cultivate strong and lasting reading habits.

It also prioritizes support for rural areas, former revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority regions, border areas, and less-developed regions, to ensure balanced development.

"These targeted measures are designed to address real challenges and ensure that efforts to promote reading reach every corner of the grassroots level," said Lu Shaoyang, a professor at Peking University's School of Journalism and Communication.

OPTIMIZING CONTENT SUPPLY

The regulation also sets clear requirements for improving the supply of reading content, urging publishers to produce more high-quality works with intellectual depth, artistic excellence and high production standards.

Notably, it makes clear that reading is no longer confined to print. Digital reading is encouraged alongside traditional formats, with a focus on expanding access to quality digital content.

At the recent 2026 Beijing Book Fair, a key platform for promoting nationwide reading, achievements in artificial intelligence and digital publishing took center stage.

The Encyclopedia of China Publishing House showcased its core digital products, including immersive "smart classrooms" that use technologies such as VR to offer interdisciplinary learning experiences for young readers, with topics ranging from China's Tiangong space station and human anatomy to the age of dinosaurs.

"In the era of intelligence, systematic intellectual properties of the publishing industry are gaining unprecedented value," Wu Shulin said. "The industry must actively embrace technology and turn these properties into a growth impetus." ■