Students in traditional Chinese clothing at a primary school in Ganyu, Jiangsu province, read the Analects of Confucius on Tuesday. SI WEI / FOR CHINA DAILY

In recent months, social media sites have been deluged with posts bemoaning the decline of reading in China. But according to a new report, the harbingers of doom have been on the wrong page.

Contrary to the rumors, reading is not a dying pastime. If anything, more Chinese are settling down with a good book than ever before, albeit across a variety of platforms, and reading is becoming an increasingly fashionable social activity, according to the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, which published its 11th National Reading Survey on Monday.

The report, which surveyed more than 40,000 people in 74 cities last year, found that Chinese readers got through 8.8 billion books, 600 million more than in 2012. And it seems they still can't get enough.

According to CAPP, which estimates that the Chinese book market is worth 46 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) per year, the average Chinese reader consumed 7.25 books in 2013 - about one-third in digital format.

In addition, they each read 70 editions of a newspaper and five magazines, spending 50 minutes a day reading online and 35 minutes on physical publications.

Meanwhile, e-reading made a real impression for the first time, with 50 percent of readers endorsing the format in 2013. To put that growth into perspective, in 2012 every person in China read 6.74 books on average.

The most popular subjects were literary works, closely followed by books about lifestyles. Meanwhile, provided the books are cheap enough, readers head to the bookstore twice a year on average to stock up on new material. Most readers thought 13.8 yuan was a reasonable price for a book. Those who don't read, less than 25 percent of the 1.3 billion population, blamed pressure of work for their failure to do so, and 50.8 percent of those interviewed said that at the end of every year they always regretted not spending more time reading.

"The change has been slow and steady, but the trend is clear when you look at it over the long term," said Xu Shengguo, a CAPP researcher who led the survey team. "I think it's an irrevocable trend now," he said. "We are reading more and more, so much that it may well become a lifestyle trend."

That may sound fanciful, but "Reading, my lifestyle", the slogan coined for a government-backed reading campaign that's often seen painted on walls and promoted via talks, is not entirely without foundation.

To boost the pastime, in the past year, the government has been working on a national regulation that will result in the allocation of funding and resources to promote reading for pleasure, as promised in this year's government work report.

"More than 800 million people have taken part in the reading campaign, but growth isn't easy," said Wu Shangzhi, director of the national reading campaign office at the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

This week, to celebrate UNESCO's World Book Day on April 23, the authorities in Beijing and provinces such as Jiangxi, Guangdong, Shaanxi and Anhui, have been handing out free digital reading coupons, operating mobile libraries, offering popular works at discounted prices and conducting searches for "the most-bookish family".

"Getting reading on the government agenda has definitely helped make it a more popular choice. When you are part of a climate that celebrates the habit, it's hard not to get hooked," Xu said.

A rising social activity

In tandem with the rise in the number of books being consumed, reading is also becoming a fashionable, multi-platform social activity.

"We're human, so we will always be influenced by what other people do. People can't help reading what their friends are reading," Xu said.

As part of the growth of non-traditional reading platforms, WeChat, a social media service owned by Tencent, China's largest Internet portal, is taking advantage of this all-too-human foible.

"It's been transformational. WeChat makes it so easy to share your reading history," Xu said, adding that the platform has many advantages over traditional formats. "It delivers so many pieces that are colloquial, readable and fresh, such as transcripts of lectures. And it's free," he said.

WeChat's rapidly burgeoning user numbers - to date, it has attracted more than 300 million users, including more than 2 million public accounts that provide material for users - are more than sufficient to "give you what you want to read. That's why it's so successful. It's not about mass communication, it's all about the niche you're in," Xu said.

That feeling of exclusivity is also attracting customers to traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores. Guo Yaqian, who has researched and reviewed 60 independent bookstores the length and breadth of China, is a devotee of diversity. "It's no longer just about shopping for books in these stores - you drink coffee, watch shows, get involved in the themed talks, and hang out with friends," said the 27-year-old freelance photographer and writer.

"For me, good bookshops always express the owner's personal tastes and enthusiasms, as much in the decor as the choice of titles on sale and the type of people who are attracted to the premises," she added.

For those in search of ambience, Guo - who recently published A Guide to Chinese Independent Bookstores - recommended the Kubrick bookstore in Beijing, which specializes in works about the movie industry and regularly organizes screenings and talks by directors.

"You have to have your own style," said Zhang Hongye, general manager of Beepub, an art and culture publishing house in Songzhuang, a working artists' community in Beijing's eastern suburbs. "We deal with art and cultural themes, so we can't afford to be flippant or loud. We present books for those who are looking to assuage their craving for serious, in-depth material that's not available elsewhere."

The classics endure

According to the CAPP survey, the Chinese public has never wavered in its appreciation of classic works such as A Dream of Red Mansions, Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Outlaws of the Marsh, which are regularly voted the country's four favorite books.

But when it comes to annual bestsellers, contemporary works are taking pride of place.

Insight, the autobiography of Chai Jing, a well-known anchor on China Central Television, was China's most popular book, selling more than 1 million copies in the first month after publication, according to the 2013 Market Report of Retail Book Sales released by the literary consultancy Openbook.

"It (Insight) proves the industry's 80/20 rule," according to the report, referring to the old saw that 20 percent of the books published earn 80 percent of the industry's income.

"It looks back at the last 10 years, a period that is very popular with readers. It's a successful subject with enduring appeal," the report said.

Xu believes the book's success was driven by demographics: "Insight caught on most with white-collar workers. They're the ones who care about social change."

Childrens' literature, an ever-expanding genre, came next on last year's bestseller list, followed by politics, including Zhu Rongji on the Records and Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China.

"These books are aimed more at a group of mature readers with an interest in politics. Just as Tiny Times by Guo Jingming, a bestseller about a group of 20-somethings that has raked in a huge amount of money in the past few years, is indicative of the younger generation. You read what your group reads," Xu said.