China lags peers in recreation spending

Chinese people spend less money on culture and recreation than their counterparts in countries at a similar development level, according to the Report on the Development of China's Cultural Industry 2007.

The report, released yesterday in Beijing by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Shanghai Jiaotong University, said Chinese people fall far short of the average among similarly developed countries when it comes to spending on culture and recreation.

"It is very improper," Zhang Xiaoming, chief editor of the report and deputy director of the academy's Cultural Industry Research Center, told a news conference.