[Photo/Xinhua]

China had 225,000 bookstores and sales outlets for books at the end of 2018, a 4.3 percent increase from the previous year, according to an annual report on the country's bookstore industry released on Jan 8.

The report, released by China's Books and Periodicals Distribution Association, showed that the total sales revenue of publications in the country reached 370.4 billion yuan ($54.76 billion) last year, up 5.9 percent year-on-year, while 158 billion yuan was from retail, which enjoyed an 11.3 percent growth.

Private bookstores played a significant part in the development. As of October, 85 of over 160 outlets of the Sisyphe Bookstore were opened in 2018 alone, and Yanjiyou, another popular brand, opened 53 bookstores from January to November, according to People's Daily.