20th World Book Day: Chinese as Avid Readers

Parents are among the primary forces driving the demand of children’s books in bookstores nationwide.

In 2014, China’s reading rate settled at 78.6 percent, while 21.4 percent of the population read nothing at all.

A photo taken on March 26, 2015 shows the Library El Ateneo Grand Splendid in the city of Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina.

A photo taken on April 11, 2015 shows El Pendulo, a book store in Mexico City, capital of Mexico.

A photo taken on March 26, 2015 shows Livraria da Vila, a book store in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil.

Readers browse books in Sanlian Taofen Bookstore in Beijing on April 22, 2015. The bookstore is the first in the Chinese capital that operates 24 hours a day.

Braille publications have been allowing blind people read for years.

A man reads a book on the bank of a fishpond while waiting to nab the fish in the net he cast, in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province on April 10, 2011.

A hardware store owner reads a book in his store on April 21, 2015. He says he's an avid literature reader and spends most of his spare time in reading.

A man reads a book on a subway in Beijing on April 21, 2015. The number of people reading books on subways has been declining as many people choose to read e-books via their smartphones.

A reader reads an e-book via his smartphone in Beijing Chaoyang Library on April 22, 2015. An increasing number of people in China tend to read e-books via their smartphones.

April 23, 2015 marks the 20th World Book Day.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) set up the day in 1995 to encourage people to discover the pleasure of reading.

The day is also for the promotion of publishing and copyright.