Citizens stand or sit on the ground in a chain Xin Hua book store in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province Monday afternoon, July 13, 2009. The scorching weather has forced people to find cooler environments, like book stores, banks and shopping malls.

July 15, CRIENGLISH.com - Citizens in east China's Jiangxi Province have been found to devote more time reading in book stores as one way of avoiding the scorching summer heat, the provincial information outlet "jxcn.cn" reported.

The Xinhua book store chain in the provincial capital, Nanchang, told the news website that 70 percent of customers have been attracted by the cool temperatures in their store since the beginning of June, resulting in a 30 percent increase in June sales compared with the same period last year.

Gong Bing, a deputy general manager at one Xinhua branch, attributed the higher revenue to the scorching weather, which has already lasted for a significant period of time. He added that Nanchang's Xinhua Book Store leads in terms of sales volume among all other book store chains nationwide.

Citizens stand or sit on the ground in a chain Xin Hua book store in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province Monday afternoon, July 13, 2009. The scorching weather has forced people to find cooler environments, like book stores, banks and shopping malls.

Readers of all ages crowded into the 2nd floor of Xinhua book store, located at Nanchang's Bayi Square, Monday afternoon, according to the "jxcn.cn" report. One customer, a freelancer named Mr Tan, said that although his house is equipped with air conditioning he thinks the book store is a better place to read as it's easier to concentrate with so many other readers around him.

But some customers simply visit the shop to hide from the scorching heat outside.

One day the number of visitors to the shop reached as high as 50,000, says Gong Bing.

Citizens stand or sit on the ground in a chain Xin Hua book store in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province Monday afternoon, July 13, 2009. The scorching weather has forced people to find cooler environments, like book stores, banks and shopping malls.

Citizens stand or sit on the ground in a chain Xin Hua book store in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province Monday afternoon, July 13, 2009. The scorching weather has forced people to find cooler environments, like book stores, banks and shopping malls.