Customers visit the special counter for Olympic-related books in the Beijing Book Building. [China Daily]
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Sun Wen, a primary school student from Anhui province, spent a whole day roaming around bookstores during his brief stay in Beijing.
Along with his parents, the 11-year-old boy from the southern city of Chaohu fulfilled his long-cherished dream of seeing the Olympic city during the summer holidays.
After visiting old and new landmarks such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the National Stadium and the National Center for Performing Arts, the family spent their last day in Beijing searching for books on the city's culture and the 2008 Olympics.
"Although we are not going to watch the Games in Beijing, we want to learn more about the venues and the Olympic culture," explaines Sun Junfei, Sun Wen's father, who bought more than 10 books for his son and himself at the Beijing Book Building in the western shopping hub of Xidan.
Like the Suns, many readers are flooding into Beijing's bookstores for Olympic-related publications, says Qin Hui, a marketing manager with the Beijing Book Building, the largest bookstore in the city with up to 60,000 visitors a day.
"We have seen a growing interest in Olympic culture since China's successful bid for the Games in 2001 but it is the 100-day countdown that has further fueled readers' enthusiasm about both the host city and the upcoming Games."
The Beijing Book Building and other large bookstores have reaped a windfall in extra revenue since opening special stalls for Olympic books.
To further entice visitors, the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore, located in arguably the most bustling commercial area in central Beijing, has installed huge LED screens and put up colorful posters to highlight its special zone for Olympic books.
"It is vital for us to grab visitors' attention as soon as they step into the bookstore," says marketing manager Ge Fei.
Wangfujing Xinhua has opened counters for Olympic-related gifts and souvenirs and a 60-sqm special area for Olympic-related books with more than 1,000 titles for sale.
"The 2008 Olympics has offered a great opportunity for Chinese publishers," says Liu Binjie, head of the State Administration of Press and Publishing. "Since China is the host country and Beijing the host city, Chinese people want to know more about the Games.
"The Olympics is more than a mega sports event. It is a movement, a culture that symbolizes the ideal of peace, harmony and prosperity among human beings. I believe the books can help readers learn about the Olympics from various perspectives."
Bookstores in other cities have also benefited from Olympic fervor. In the last six months alone, the Heze Book Mansion in Shandong has sold more than 40,000 Olympic books.
"The best-selling books are previews of the Beijing Olympics, general histories of the Games and the Olympic Spirit," says Heze sales manager Chang Xin.