This Day, That Year: more choices in spare time

A reader at a 24-hour bookstore in Beijing on May 25, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Almost 30 years on, young Beijingers have more choices, including 24-hour libraries and bookstores spread across the city.

There are hundreds of cinemas and theaters in Beijing, where people can watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters, plays or world-class concerts.

Gyms, parks and university playgrounds are also crowded with people of various age groups.

Armed with wearable devices to monitor their exercise and physical data, and cutting-edge digital gadgets to entertain their ears, more and more Beijingers have become exercise addicts－an effort to offset the modern lifestyle's negative effects on their health.

Bars and eateries are all-time summer favorites in Beijing. But unlike the 1980s, people now focus more on these places' social functions than the drinks and foods themselves.