(Yicai Global) Jan. 12 – China's book market saw sales increase 14.5 percent annually last year reaching CNY80.3 billion (USD12.3 billion), driven by a 25.8 percent surge in online bookstore revenues.

The expansion represents a turnaround in fortunes for the country's book sector, which recorded a contraction during 2016, state-backed People's Daily cited research from consultancy Beijing Open Book Information Technology Co. as saying.

Physical bookstores secured a rise of 2.33 percent in overall sales, while children's books accounted for one-third of overall growth and made up 24.6 percent of the total last year.