'Red' bookstores witness rising Chinese enthusiasm on revolutionary history

Read beyond bookstores

Revolution-themed bookstores are not the only players promoting "red" reading. Many general and private bookstores are also exploring new ways to better engage the public.

Zhongshuge, a chain bookstore startup renowned for its surreal design, has furnished a section at its Zunyi branch with bugles and medical kits that can hark back to the warring era, displaying revolutionary productions and facilitating in-store reading.

In April, the Wangfujing Bookstore in central Beijing joined hands with nearby primary and secondary schools to bring theme book fairs to the campuses, featuring "red" publications for children and young students.

On the high-speed trains between Beijing, Tianjin and Xiongan, passengers were offered a free reading service on board, more than 200 digital books and audiobooks, many of which are the revolution history of the Party.

China Bookstore, a famous publisher of classic Chinese books, launched an online exhibition of "red" memories in March, bring together 100 revolution-themed comics, 100 posters of revolution movies and more than 50 newspapers published on the previous birthdays of the CPC. The offline version of the exhibition is currently on tour in its physical bookstore outlets, which became a hit during this year's World Book Day.

The popularity of books about revolutionary years reflects a collective recognition of the Party's leadership over the past decades, which is a natural assertion of current social psych ahead of such a milestone, said Zheng Dongsheng, a professor at the Party School of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of CPC.

The reading preference also reflects the personality and history of a city, as well as the status of its social and cultural development, said Zheng.