Plot thickens for a 'lifestyle' chain with a difference

Private investment is helping to fuel the boom in newlook Chinese bookstores.

Cultural events, book launches and "public readings" are changing the landscape of an industry that looked to be in decline.

"Social investment in the bookstore sector is a trend," said Peng Weiguo, vice-director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Press and Publication during the city's book fair in August.