Books in the poetry section of the Shanxi Book Building [Photo/sxrb.com]

A popular televised Chinese poetry competition has triggered a renaissance in North China's Shanxi province, with sales of poetry books skyrocketing, according to a report in Shanxi Daily on Feb 22.

The Chinese Poetry Conference was aired on China Central Television over the course of the Spring Festival holidays and quickly became a talking point among people of all ages, who are now crowding stores to replenish their knowledge of poetry.

Many bookstores in the province have set up special spaces for poetry books.

"The section for the Chinese Poetry Conference has been here for more than two weeks," said Zhang Lei, a staff member of Shanxi Book Building. "We sold over 50 poetry books in one afternoon. Sales of poetry books have increased by 20 to 30 percent."

Online bookstores also seeing an increase in sales. In a best-seller list from Dangdang, an electronic commerce platform, poetry books md\ake up 30 percent of the top 20 best-sellers.

Xue Ping, a PhD from Shanxi Academy of Social Science, said, "This reflects people's admiration for Chinese culture, which accords with China's strategy of building a strong nation."

Most buyers of poetry books are students. "Primary and middle school students are required to study Chinese poetry," said Zhang Runhua, a teacher from Taiyuan, Shanxi province. "More reading will help to improve their schoolwork."