Fully booked out

Customers visit the special counter for Olympic-related books in the Beijing Book Building.

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Sun Wen, a primary school student from Anhui province, spent a whole day roaming around bookstores during his brief stay in Beijing.

Along with his parents, the 11-year-old boy from the southern city of Chaohu fulfilled his long-cherished dream of seeing the Olympic city during the summer holidays.

After visiting old and new landmarks such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the National Stadium and the National Center for Performing Arts, the family spent their last day in Beijing searching for books on the city's culture and the 2008 Olympics.

"Although we are not going to watch the Games in Beijing, we want to learn more about the venues and the Olympic culture," explaines Sun Junfei, Sun Wen's father, who bought more than 10 books for his son and himself at the Beijing Book Building in the western shopping hub of Xidan.

Like the Suns, many readers are flooding into Beijing's bookstores for Olympic-related publications, says Qin Hui, a marketing manager with the Beijing Book Building, the largest bookstore in the city with up to 60,000 visitors a day.

"We have seen a growing interest in Olympic culture since China's successful bid for the Games in 2001 but it is the 100-day countdown that has further fueled readers' enthusiasm about both the host city and the upcoming Games."