Society

Chinese should spend more time reading

By Zhang Jiawei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-20 22:22

A recent survey showed in 2009, Chinese people between the ages of 18 and 70 spent on average 14.7 minutes reading books, 21.02 minutes reading newspapers, 15.4 minutes reading magazines and 34.09 minutes surfing the Internet, the People's Daily Online reported on Tuesday.

The study, done by the China Institute of Publication Science, surveyed 19,005 respondents nationwide. It also showed the reading rates of both paper and electronic publications among Chinese people aged between 18 and 70 was 72 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from 2008.

The reading rate for books was 50.1 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from 2008; for newspapers, 58.3 percent, down 5.6 percentage points; for periodicals, 45.6 percent, down 4.5 percentage points, the survey showed.

Hao Zhensheng, head of the China Institute of Publication Science, said the decline in reading rates for both newspapers and periodicals were mainly due to a decrease in publications as well as competition from the Internet.

The reading rate for electronic publications of people aged above 18 is 24.6 percent, 0.1 percentage points higher than 2008. Internet and cell phones are the main access to electronic publications, at 16.7 percent and 14.9 percent respectively. Those reading electronic publications using handheld devices were 1.3 percent, 0.3 percentage points higher than 2008.

Among respondents who have read electronic publications, 52.1 percent said they could accept paying for downloading reading materials with an average price of 3.45 yuan ($0.5).

The survey showed 16.1 percent of the respondents were satisfied with their current reading habits, while 32.1 percent said they were not satisfied and should read more.

State-owned Xinhua Bookstore is the main place Chinese people get their books, with 71 percent of the respondents said they would buy from Xinhua, 40 percent said they would buy from privately-owned bookstores, 35.8 percent from street vendors, and 5.2 percent from online bookstores, the survey showed.

According to the survey, 65.5 percent of the respondents said they wish local governments would hold reading activities to encourage reading habits.

High price of books was a cause that hindered people's reading habits. More than half of the respondents said books are over priced in China. The accepted price for a simple 200-page literature book was 11.17 yuan on average, the survey showed.