BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) — As spring unfolds across China, so do the pages of countless books. On Monday, the country’s first national reading week and the fifth national reading conference opened in tandem, an invitation to turn over a new leaf in the nation’s journey toward a book-loving society.

Over the coming week, reading events will be held across the country. From lectures and book fairs to salons and book donations, all aimed at promoting reading among the public.

A child reads a book at a bookstore in Shijiazhuang City, north China’s Hebei Province, April 12, 2026. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)

As a country with more than five millennia of continuous civilization, China has long valued reading and learning. Today, the Chinese government has elevated nationwide reading to a national strategy, incorporating it into the 15th Five-Year Plan and featuring it in government work reports for 13 consecutive years.

The government sees building a reading-friendly society as crucial to raising people’s cultural refinement and the nation’s level of social progress, and to fostering the country’s overall innovation and creativity.

READING EVERYWHERE

China has consistently invested in reading infrastructure. By the end of 2025, there were 3,253 public libraries across the country offering free access.

Many libraries have been built at people’s doorsteps. For example, the library of Lixia District in Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, has established 100 community library branches, which cumulatively served over one million readers.

Beyond public libraries, reading spaces of various types have quietly taken root in the everyday fabric of cities.

People read books at Beijing Library in Tongzhou District of Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Since 2022, 111 free public reading rooms have sprung up across Nanchang in east China’s Jiangxi Province. They are tucked into neighborhoods, town centers, industrial parks, subway and high-speed rail stations, and even tourist spots.

Statistics show that China currently boasts more than 40,000 new-type urban reading spaces, bringing reading services closer to people than ever before.

Reading venues across the country are getting increasingly user-friendly. In the Wanzai ancient town in Jiangxi, books borrowed from bedside tables in guesthouses can be returned at the city library.

« It’s just like bike-sharing, » said Jiao Yang, founder of a local guesthouse.

In Xuzhou, a city in east China’s Jiangsu Province, local reading spaces have rolled out thoughtful services tailored for older adults, including magnifying and reading glasses.

China has also issued its first-ever administrative regulation dedicated to nationwide reading, which came into force in February. The regulation outlines measures to boost reading promotions, improve the quality of reading services, and strengthen support systems, providing a solid legal basis for building a society that loves reading.

Thanks to years of efforts to promote nationwide reading, the national comprehensive reading rate rose from 76.3 percent in 2012 to 82.1 percent in 2024, thereby creating a strong basis for fostering a culture of reading.

Children read books at a bookstore in Shijiazhuang City, north China’s Hebei Province, April 12, 2026. (Photo by Liang Zidong/Xinhua)

BOOKS OVER BOTS

In an era defined by rapid digital and technological change, knowledge is being updated at an unprecedented pace, making reading more important than ever. Yet, with AI recommending books, narrating audiobooks, and serving as a reading companion, what then becomes the true value of reading?

At the launch of the Hangzhou branch of the nationwide reading week in east China’s Zhejiang Province, Chinese novelist Mai Jia reflected on an irony: for over a century after the first car was built, people still embraced running — inefficient, but a way to maintain their health.

He then turned to the AI-powered present. Just as people chose to run in the age of cars, he said, one day, they will make time to turn off their screens and return to books.

At the same event, writer Zhang Kangkang suggested that readers turn to reliable social media accounts to choose books that can truly resolve their inner confusion and help them grow. When it comes to reading methods, she advocated spending long, uninterrupted hours reading substantial books, while fragmented time can be spent browsing posts or listening to audiobooks.

Jin Yuanpu, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University of China in Beijing, believes that generative AI is becoming an assistant to readers in tasks such as searching for background information, raising insightful questions, and expanding understanding.

« But it cannot think for us, » he said. « It cannot replace children’s foundational learning, nor can it substitute for innovative research across various fields, or the arduous exploration of human academic endeavors. »

« AI’s deep thinking is AI’s, not yours, » said Chen Manqi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

« Only through reading can one gain independent, deep thinking. Only the thoughts that settle in your mind through reading are truly yours, » she said.