A man reads a book in front of a shelf displaying "red books" in a bookstore in Beijing on June 11. [Da Wei / for China Daily]

BEIJING - Guo Yao picked up the Constitution of the Communist Party of China from a pile of books in the Beijing Books Building, one of the capital city's largest bookstores, on Tuesday.

"I came today specially to buy books with respect to the history of the Party, as we will celebrate the Party's birthday soon," the 68-year-old Beijing woman said with a smile.

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Like Guo, many other people in the bookstore were attracted by the exhibition of 200 "red books", which tell the history, experience as well as theories of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

In honor of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, which falls on July 1, the General Administration of Press and Publication organized a month-long exhibition for these 200 books in 100 bookstores across the nation.

The exhibition at the Beijing Books Building began on Monday.

"Even several weeks ago, many individuals and institutions came to look for books concerning the Party's stories," said Yan Ying, media officer of the bookstore.

Statistics show that the sales volume of the History of the Communist Party of China has already reached nearly 1.9 million.

Many other red books, such as Red Spirit and The Track of History - Why the Communist Party of China Can Succeed, have all been hotly sought after by readers.

Li Zhongsheng, an official of the training center under the Ministry of Railways, also came to the Beijing Books Building on Tuesday looking for study materials about Party history for the 85 Party members in his center.

"The whole country is looking forward to the upcoming 90th anniversary. To celebrate this event, we will buy some red books with Party membership fees, and carry out group study to better understand the past of the Party," Li said.

"These 200 books are a lavish gift from the publishing industry to the Party's birthday," said Liu Binjie, minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication.

"These books will constitute the memory of how the Party completely changed the look of China, and will enhance people's knowledge of the Party's policies," he added.

Party history experts said books about the Party's past provide them with a great opportunity to not only look back, but also look forward.

"We can absorb knowledge and power from the past, and motivate the Party to better explore its governance capability," said Li Zhongjie, deputy director of the Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee.