From 24-hour bookstore to small-scale theater, Xiamen in East China's Fujian province these days has been offering its local residents a more vibrant nightlife with a cultural twist.

As a night falls in Xiamen, the evening is just starting for expectant youngsters at Shapowei, in Siming district. They can look forward to enjoying a small live concert performed by a niche singer, or taking in an experimental drama by a folk troupe.

Over the past few years, talk shows and xiangsheng, a Chinese form of comedy involving a dialogue between two performers, have joined offerings on the playbills of the well-received small theaters.

In addition to the artist performances, reading an interesting book in a bricks-and-mortar book store is another option for the nightlife fans.

As the bookstores' opening time keeps the same pace with other local businesses, the book store sees its customer flow peak from 19:00 to 21:00.

Compared to a conventional coffee house, people feel more relaxed in a book store and office staff prefer to finish their extra work there, said one local resident surnamed Zhu.

Xiangsheng performers enchant local residents in Xiamen at nighttime. [Photo/xmnn.cn]