China's growing demand for interior decoration is expected to lend vitality to housing decoration, building materials and furniture-making enterprises, according to industry insiders.

A report from the China Social Survey Institute shows that about one-fifth of residential housing in large and medium-sized Chinese cities have been remodeled.

The China National Interior Decoration Association predicts the industry will earn 300 billion yuan (36 billion US dollars) in annual income during the next four years.

This indicates residential activity has been confined to a small portion of the available home decoration market and means there is room for further development, Zhang Shili, the newly- appointed chairman of China Institute of Interior Design, was quoted by December 5's China Daily as saying.

People are expected to increasingly shift their attention towards creating functional homes with professional interior designs that cater to the special requirements of families.

As a result, the newspaper noted, Chinese families are likely to select special and delicately looking furniture to accent their newly refined homes.

At present, world leading furniture firms have introduced modern furniture featuring simplicity, solidity and brightness on Chinese market, nevertheless, high prices have often kept ordinary families from being able to buy them.