After graduating from university, Li worked for a short time. However, because she was not satisfied with her salary, she decided to quit and pursue postgraduate studies to increase her chances of landing a better job. Li told newspaper Guangming Daily that she's rented a bedroom in an apartment, but as her room has no space for a desk, she opted for a study room close to her home—and at a reasonable price.

Paid study rooms have flourished in China in recent years. As of late 2022, Beijing had 596 such study rooms, ranking first in the country, according to market research firm Insight and Info.

Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Shanghai ranked second and third, with 533 and 427 study rooms, respectively. The number of paid study room users increased from 850,000 in 2018 to 7.55 million in 2022. Young people are the main users of such study rooms, with those aged 21 to 30 accounting for 57 percent and those aged 31 to 35 accounting for 21 percent.

The need to learn 

The popularity of paid study rooms follows the increasing need of young people to study. As the job market becomes more competitive, more and more young people are choosing to take the country's postgraduate entrance examination to improve their chances of landing a good job. According to the Ministry of Education, 4.38 million people had registered for the national postgraduate entrance examination, which Li just took, to be able to attend graduate schools this fall.

A growing number of young people studying for exams to become civil servants also need such study rooms. The number of applicants for the most recent national civil service examination, which took place in late November 2023, exceeded 3 million for the first time ever. They are competing for 39,600 positions in Central Government agencies and their directly affiliated institutions, which means there are about 77 candidates on average for one position.

Not only those preparing for the exams, but also city employees who want to improve themselves are opting to study in paid study rooms. A resident surnamed Xia in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China, works for a Japanese company based in Shanghai. He is responsible for maintaining customer relations in Chengdu, and since the company does not have an office in the city, he has to work from home.

However, he finds it difficult to concentrate on his work at home. So he found a paid study room near his home. He told online portal Thecover.cn that the study room charges about 300 yuan ($42) a month, which is a reasonable price.

Li Chuang, an assistant researcher of educational sociology with the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said paid study rooms represent a solution to the gap between people's needs to study and the inadequate supply of public study spaces.

The researcher has conducted research in a Beijing study room several times and was impressed by the quiet environment and independent spaces for customers. "Compared with bookstores and cafes, paid study rooms have created an environment that can help people focus and improve efficiency," he told Guangming Daily.

The quiet environment is why Jeong U-Kim, a seventh grader from the Republic of Korea studying at an international school in Beijing, chose to study at a paid study room located at a five-minute walk from his home. He comes to the study room two or three times a week after school to do his homework. "It's clean and quiet here. Home is quite noisy," he told Beijing Review.

In addition to the quiet environment, young people have found a sense of community in the study rooms.

Li Zhen said she goes into the public area of the study room to take a break when she gets tired and exchanges experiences with those who are also preparing for the postgraduate exam. "I have a strong sense of belonging here. Although we don't know each other, we are all working hard for our dreams and encourage each other," she said.

A lack of libraries 

In addition to the growing need for study, lack of free public study rooms has also contributed to the popularity of paid study rooms.

There are people who don't want to spend money on studying and have a preference for libraries, which are free of charge.

A Beijing resident surnamed Chen told Guangming Daily that she prefers libraries to paid study rooms and visits the Capital Library in the city's Chaoyang District three to four times a week. "Libraries have lots of books, newspapers and magazines that paid study rooms don't have," she said.

But it's not always easy to find a library close to home. Li Zhen had previously searched online for libraries near her home but found the nearest library was 3 to 4 km away. "It's okay going there once in a while, but it's hard to do so every day," she said.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China had 3,303 public libraries nationwide as of 2022, which means there is only one library for every 420,000 people.

In addition to the scarcity of public libraries, their shorter hours and limited seating discourage many from studying there.

Ma Zhonghong, a professor of advertising at the School of Communication of Soochow University in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, told Guangming Daily that the opening hours of public libraries and community reading rooms should be extended and their seat numbers be increased.

Li Hairong, a professor with the School of Marxism at Zhengzhou Business University, said in a commentary published in China Education Daily newspaper that young people's motivation to learn should be protected. The space for study at public libraries should be expanded and free study rooms should be established at communities, residential compounds and buildings to help young people realize their dreams.

(Print Edition Title: In the Study Zone) 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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