Visitors listen to audio books at the booth of Ximalaya during a book fair in Shanghai on Aug 14, 2019. (Photo: China Daily)

BEIJING -- Over 79 percent of Chinese adults said they read through digital channels in 2019, up 3.1 percentage points from the previous year, according to a reading survey unveiled Monday.

More than half of the respondents showed an inclination to reading via digital devices, while the proportion of readers who prefer print publications has declined, according to the survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication.

Audiobooks become a new growth area. Over 30 percent of Chinese adults listened to audiobooks in 2019, increasing by 4.3 percentage points year on year.

In general, about 81.1 percent of Chinese adults read books, newspapers or magazines in 2019, rising slightly from 80.8 percent in 2018, said the survey.

The survey, the 17th of its kind, had a sample size of 21,270 people from 29 provincial-level regions.