Caretaker's mission

Indie publisher Yang Xiaozhou campaigns for better culture in Chinese bookstores, Xing Yi reports.

Books occupy most of the space in Yang Xiaozhou's study in Beijing, leaving just a small part of the room for a desk that the bibliophile, critic and independent publisher uses for his work.

"I don't know exactly how many books I have," says Yang, 54, as he squeezes into a chair.