At Hotan Night Market in Xinjiang, a vendor makes use of her time to learn at intervals. CHEN ZELIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

The construction of a literary society is inseparable from the high-quality reading. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, China's publishing industry has achieved rapid development. Statistics show that in 1978, there were only more than 100 publishing houses with about 15,000 books published annually; today, there are more than 580 publishing houses with annual publication of 500,000 books. The leap from book shortage to well-stocked libraries is a witness to the development of the country and the progress of the times, and has in turn fulfilled the expectation of the people's spiritual and cultural life.