BEIJING - China's book retail market saw strong growth in 2016 with a year-on-year rise of 12.3 percent in sales, according to a report by the Publishers' Association of China on Friday.

Book sales reached over 70 billion yuan ($10 billion), the report said.

Sales through online channels grew by 30 percent year on year, while brick-and-mortar book shops saw sales dropping by 2.33 percent, it said.

Sales of children's books surged 28.84 percent year on year, making it the largest niche market with a share of 23.51 percent.