An aerial view of the Frontier Medical Center in Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone Photo: Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone Administrative Committee

 Chengdu is to invest a total of 15 million yuan ($2 million) into the public as well as private bookshops to boost the citywide bookstore businesses, said the Chengdu government on Tuesday.

The plan, Management Measures for Supporting Funds for Physical Bookstores, is mainly targeting the high-tech industrial development zone (high-tech zone) in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, announced the government on a book promotion event.

The event aims to create a favorable atmosphere for reading among the public, and further advance the construction of a "bookish high-tech zone."

The Measures plan to allocate 5 million yuan ($700,000) in government funds to support the improvement and strengthening of physical bookstores in the high-tech zone. The support encompasses project subsidies, which include six aspects, the establishment of new physical bookstores, innovative operations, decoration upgrades, setting up urban reading and artistic spaces, organizing various reading promotion activities, and rent subsidies.

In addition, they will distribute 10 million yuan in physical bookstore vouchers throughout 2024 and will also introduce 69 "TOP10 Book Houses" in the area, an idea which will provide a 24-hour free reading platform featuring the top ten best-selling books, offering the public a convenient and rich cultural experience.

The bookstore voucher activity in the Chengdu high-tech zone will commence on New Year's Day in 2024. Thirteen licensed and certified physical bookstores within the high-tech zone will participate in the activity, covering various fields such as books, cultural and creative products, and even dining.

As of this year, Chengdu boasts over 3,600 physical bookstores, ranking first in the country. The increasingly vibrant atmosphere of nationwide reading has made "Bookish Chengdu" a prominent urban symbol.

Within the high-tech zone, two national "most beautiful bookstores," eight Chengdu "most beautiful bookstores," and nine "bookish communities" in Chengdu. The new building of the Chengdu High-tech Zone Library, operational since June 2023, has already welcomed nearly a million visitors.

According to the seventh national population census data, the population aged 15-59 in the Chengdu high-tech zone exceeds 75 percent of the total permanent population, with the number of people with a college education or higher ranking first in all of Chengdu.

The population structure of being "young and highly educated" provides fertile ground for a reading culture.

"Taking this event as an opportunity, we will continue to enrich the cultural service supply, creating a strong atmosphere for books to the public," said the manager of the Chengdu high-tech zone during Tuesday's event.

Global Times