"I want to relax after work by reading novels at home," said Zhang Guolin, who was buying a pile of books in a crowded book store in downtown Beijing.

Zhang, 35, who works for an IT company, said in the past he preferred to read economics books for career development and personal investment, but now he has turned to literature to improve his literary and artistic skills.

Cheng Minxia, editor of an economics newspaper who always reads on-line economics books at work, said she spends around 1,500 yuan(US$188) every year to buy fiction and biographies.

"I love reading such books on the sofa at home when I do not need to push myself for work," Cheng said.

More Chinese are showing more interest in reading literary books in comparison with an enthusiasm for economics following China's accession to the World Trade Organization, said Guo Kaiyan, press officer with the book mansion based in the bustling Xidan region in central Beijing.

Books on economics, management and MBA courses used to be the best sellers when Chinese were expecting opportunities in the burgeoning market, said Guo.

The economic fever has cooled down amid a growing sense of rationality in Chinese society, which boosted the popularity of literary, educational and scientific readings, she noted.

People are becoming more psychologically balanced and paying greater attention to improving their all-round ability, experts say.

Statistics from another book store based in Zhongguancun, better known as China's Silicon Valley, showed that the sales of literary books in both Chinese and foreign languages in the first four months of the year increased 43 percent from the previous year.

Educational publications, Chinese classics, foreign literature and biographies were the favorite choices of Chinese readers in recent years, according to Ni Xiaojian, curator with the Capital Library in northwestern Beijing.

Statistics show that China published 190,000 varieties of books in 2004, and the figure grew to 210,000 last year, providing abundant choices in the booming publication market for readers with different tastes.

Chen Hao, a postgraduate of philosophy from Qinghua University in Beijing, has purchased several books to share with his classmates during the week-long Labor Day holiday.

"The books offers suggestions and advices on how to deal with difficulties in life, which will be valuable for us in getting prepared to participate in social competition," said Chen.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2006)