Per capita

A recently released national survey on reading among Chinese citizens showed a steady rise in reading as a habit in China. The overall reading habit level among Chinese adults stood at 81.9 percent in 2023, a slight increase from 2022 and a 12.2-percentage-point growth from 2008, according to the latest national reading survey published by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication at the third National Conference on Reading that began on April 23, World Book Day. The survey indicated that the habit of reading books among Chinese adults was at 59.8 percent in 2023, up 10.5 percentage points from 2008. Chinese adults read an average of 4.75 printed books and 3.4 digital books per capita last year. A train staff member shares books with students during a reading activity on train 5634, which travels from Xichang city to Mianning county in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Zhou Zeping) An average adult spent an average of 23.38 minutes reading printed books last year, the survey showed. Moreover, 80.3 percent of Chinese adults had experience with digital reading, such as reading on computers, mobile phones, or other handheld devices, in 2023, reflecting a 0.2-percentage-point increase from the previous…

Rural tourism is booming in Xingfu Ancient Village, Danling county, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Home to 219 villagers, the ancient village dating back more than 200 years has six B&B hotels and over 10 agritainment facilities. The annual per capita net income of the villagers exceeds 40,000 yuan ($5,480). Photo shows a view of Xingfu Ancient Village, Danling county, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo courtesy of Dan Xuan) Nestled deep in the mountains, the village was once rarely known to the outside world due to a poor transportation infrastructure. Gong Shaorong is a native of the village. According to Gong, young villagers worked outside the village in the past and rarely returned home. Although the ancient village featuring traditional dwellings, ancient trees and other natural and cultural landscapes rose to fame thanks to a movie filmed there, it gradually lost vitality due to poor transportation, a weak economy and an aging population. Things began to change in 2014 when Xingfu Ancient Village was listed as one of Sichuan's 13 pilot programs to upgrade the development of rural tourism between 2014 and 2016 for its unique resources. "Developing rural tourism can lure villagers back and attract tourists from other places," said…