RoamingaboutabookshopusedtobethefavoritepastimeforHuangJiwei,afamedBeijing-basedwriter,publisherandavidbookcollector.Hetakesgreatpleasureinspendinghourssaunteringamongthestallsandshelves,discoveringinterestingtitlesandtakingthemhome.
"Theexperienceissomethingsimilartoashoppingspree,"hesays."Butitisgreatfunevenifyouendupnotbuyinganybooks."
Hecanstillrecallhisfirsttriptoabookstoreasaprimaryschoolboyinthe1960s.Everyschoolday,HuangwouldpassbyatinyXinhuaBookstoreoutletsomewhereneartheFragrantHillsinwesternBeijing.Hewasoftentormentedbythefactthathecouldnotaffordtobuythebooks.
"Theauntieatthebookstorewassokindtoinvitemetositdownandreadthepicture-storybooksfreeofcharge!Fromthattime,Ihavecherishedatenderfeelingforbookstores,"saysHuang,whoadmitshehasspentlessandlesstimeinthebookstoresinrecentyears.
"TheobviousexcuseisthatIamtiedupwithmyday-to-daywork.Butthetruthis,buyingbooksonlineisnotonlytimesaving,butalsomuchmoreconvenient,"Huangexplains.
ForHuang,traditionalbookstoresjustcouldn'tcomeclosetoofferingthemultitudeofuser-friendlyservicesofferedbyonlinestores.
Forexample,buyingthroughwebsiteswouldintroducereaderstolistsofthemedhyperlinkstobookstheymightnotbeawareofotherwise.
"Withafewclicks,youcanbrowsethousandsoftitlestofindyourfavorites,"Huangsays."Andyoumakethetransactionsinyourofficeorathome.Deliverypeoplewillsendthebooks,CDsorDVDstoyourdoorstep."
Anadditionaladvantageisthatonlinebuyersusuallygetdiscounts.HuangrecentlyboughtabookabouttraditionalChinesemedicine.Thebookwasoriginallypricedat29yuan(US$3.8),butheonlypaid17.01yuan(US$2.2)asaVIPcustomeroftheonlinebookstore.OnlinebuyerswhoarenotVIPscouldgetthesamebookfor17.5yuan--a60percentdiscountfromtraditionalbookstoreprices.
HuangisechoedbyFuKui,a32-year-oldITcompanyclerk,whosays"goingtotherealbookstorehasbecomealuxury"becauseofthetrafficjamsandlackofparkingspace.Manybookwormshavegonefurthertoreadonlineinsteadofbuyinganyprintedpublications.
"Withane-book,anMP4orcellphone,youcanreadalmostanythingthatisavailableonline,"saysLiJin,agraphicdesignerinBeijingwhohasnotboughtanyprintedbookforatleasteightyears.
Indeed,bookretailbusinessesinChinahaveundergonedramaticchangesoverthepastfewdecades,saysXuShengguo,researcherwiththeChinaInstituteofPublishingScience.
"Besidesvisitingbookstores,Chinesereadershavemanyalternativechannelstogetbooks,ormoreprecisely,knowledgeandinformationtheyarelookingfor,"Xusays.
Bytheendof2006,almostallofthe565publishinghousesinChinahaveopenedonlinebookstoresaswellasputtheirproductsonsome300privatelyownedonlinebookstores,saysXu,akeyauthorofAnnualReportonthePublishingIndustryinChina.
Bytheendof2006,Chinahasreportedlyaccumulated137millionnetizens,halfofwhomhavepurchasedbooksandDVDsfromonlinebookstores,accordingtoaJanuaryreportfromtheChinaInternetNetworkInformationCenter.
In2006,thetotalnetprofitofChina'sbookretailsectorreached50billionyuan(US$6.5billion),ofwhichonlinebooksalesgarneredabout1billionyuan(US$130million)-a2-percentyear-on-yearincrease,Xusays.
AccordingtoamarketreportreleasedinlateAprilbytheresearchunitofChinaBookBusinessNews,Chinahassofarproducedatleast530,000electronicbooks,with120,000titlesnewlyreleasedin2006.
Bytheendof2006,therewereatleast1,417registeredwebsitesofferingreadingcontentinelectronicformat,with61ofthemprovidingoriginalcontent.
ElectronicreadingequipmentpopularamongChinesereadersincludePCs,laptops,cellphones,andspeciallymadereadinggadgets,thereportshows.
Morethantwodecadesago,somepeoplebeganpreachingabouttheadventofa"paper-freesociety",whichwouldarisefromrapidtechnologicaladvancement.Butuptonow,thathasnotbecomereality,saysXu.
"Itistooearlytopredictthedemiseoftraditionalbookstoresintheforeseeablefuture,"Xuinsists.
Hebelievesthatprintedbookswillexistforquitealongtime.Butwithbookmarketsfurtherdiversifying,"traditionalbookstoreswillsurelybeelbowedtoaminorpositioninthenearfuture".
"RealbookstoresarestillthefirstchoiceforbookbuyersinChina,"pointsoutLiYuemin,amanagerwithWangfujingXinhuaBookstore,oneofthelargestbookstoresinChinaandamajoroutletoftheBeijingXinhuaBookstoresGroup.
AccordingtoLi,theseven-storeystorerakedinatleast180millionyuan(US$23.5million)inbooksales,andthefirstquartersalesof2007reached50millionyuan(US6.5million),creatinga17.6-percentyear-on-yearincrease.
Buttokeepupwiththenewmarkettrends,XinhuaBookstoreshavemadecontinuedadjustmentsoverpastfewyears,assmalleroutletsatprovinciallevelscombinetoformgroupedcompanies,saysXu.
OnMay30,theSichuanXinhuaWinshareChainstorebecamethefirstChinesebookstoreoperatortolistinHongKong,withaninitialpublicofferingpriceofaboutHK$2.2billion(US$281million).
TheXinhuaBookstoresystemhasbeenthelargestState-ownedbookdistributionnetworkinChina."Forquitealongtime,itvirtuallymonopolizedthebookdistributionandretailingchannelontheChinesemainland",saysLiBo,aBeijing-basedpublisher.
Althoughthesituationbegantochangein1984whenprivatelyownedbookstoresandbookstorechainswereformed,theXinhuaBookstoresystem"hasmaintaineditspositionastheNo1playerinthebookretailingmarkets",saysLi,whoadmitshiscompanyhastocooperatewithbothprivatebookstores,onlinebookstoresandtheXinhuabookstorestoensuretheirbookscanreachbuyersineachandeverycornerofthenation.