BEIJING, April 9 — Beijing’s first 24-hour bookstore opened to the public yesterday, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

The Sanlian Taofen Bookstore owned by China Publishing Group Corp, has announced a 10-day trial of the store from yesterday to April 18.

Manager Zhang Zuozhen said CN¥3 million (RM1.58 million) has been invested in the bookstore’s operation.

Established in 1996, the bookstore is in the Dongcheng District of downtown Beijing.

News of the bookstore’s new opening hours was met with warm welcome from netizens.

A user called Yi Ren DU said: “The bookstore has guts...in an era when people read less than four books a year.” Netizen RunEmma said: “The bookstore has shed a slim of light on the nation’s pursuit of intellectual nourishment.” A survey by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication last year revealed the Chinese read 4.39 books per capita in the past year, a figure far behind major developed countries.

Reading rate in the country fell from 60.4 per cent in 2000 to 54.9 per cent in 2012. — Bernama