[Photo provided to China Daily]

One buyer of physical records is Zhang Yuanyuan, 24, a music lover in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Zhang says she loves the Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou and has bought all of Chou's CDs and vinyls since she was at high school. She also follows her idol's tours and buys the most expensive tickets.

"Only loyal fans buy physical records nowadays to add to their personal collection. It's a special connection between me as a fan and Chou. I also pay for online streaming and downloading. But compared with physical records, listening to music on my phone or computer is just pure entertainment."

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said in a recent report that revenue from physical formats fell 5.4 percent last year, compared with a fall of 4.4 percent in 2016. Consumption of physical formats fell in most markets, but revenue for physical recordings still accounted for 30 percent of the global market and a higher percentage of market share in countries such as Japan (72 percent) and Germany (43 percent). Globally, revenue from vinyl sales grew 22.3 percent and accounted for 3.7 percent of the total recorded music market last year.

"We are optimistic about the physical records market in China though it will take some time to recapture the glory years of the 1990s," says Hou Jun, vice-president of China Record Group Co Ltd, the biggest and oldest record company in the country.

"Many people are happy to listen to music on their smartphones and assume record stores can barely survive, but in fact the country, which used to be home to many local record companies and record stores catering to every taste and budget, is enjoying a revival, especially with the resurgence of vinyl."