BEIJING -- Over 50 percent of Chinese babies aged under six months are purely breastfed, according to a National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) official Monday, the first day of 2016 World Breastfeeding Week.

The breastfeeding rate for babies under six months was 58.5 percent in 2013, according to the fifth national survey on health service, a surge from 27.6 percent in 2008 when the fourth national survey was conducted, the NHFPC said.

Wang Guoqiang, deputy head of the NHFPC, said at an event marking World Breastfeeding Week that the NHFPC will formulate guidelines to standardize breastfeeding rooms, and encourage public and private entities to set up such facilities in workplaces and public venues, to address insufficient and substandard breastfeeding sites.