Building reading rooms in rural areas is an innovative measure that Cixi, a county-level city in Ningbo, Zhejiang province has taken to promote reading among villagers.

Based in cultural facilities such as the old buildings, homestays and tea houses, these reading rooms provide public space for people in villages to read and share.

Shen Hangjun, an official from Cixi's publicity department, said they are working to create a strong cultural atmosphere in these reading rooms in the hope of attracting more young people.

So far, there have been 28 rural rooms in Cixi which have served over 800,000 local readers.