AN exhibition displaying the latest digital publications was held during the 7th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) from May 13 to 16.

    A total of 96 publishing agencies from across the country had a presence at the exhibition.

    The companies displayed their high-end digital publication solutions at the exhibition. And more than half of the products were provided for the sake of customer experience.

    “Digital publication is a key domain presented at this year’s ICIF,” said Yin Changlong, general manager of Shenzhen Publishing Group. “It is the first time digital publication conditions will be introduced to both industry players and end users.”

    Companies from Shenzhen are playing a leading role in the digital publication industry as the city enjoys the highest Internet penetration rate in China, reaching 78.9 percent in 2010.

    Tencent.com, whose headquarters is located in Shenzhen, is the largest Internet service provider in China.

    The market for digital publication in Shenzhen is huge. About one-10th of the sales volume of Dangdang.com, the most famous online bookstore in China, came from orders in Shenzhen.

    China Mobile Telecommunication Shenzhen Branch launched a mobile reading campaign, which drew over 3 million active members within one year, accounting for over 1/6 of the total user group of Shenzhen Mobile Telecommunication.

    The city also plans to cooperate with global digital publication agencies to establish the biggest digital publishing base in China.

    Besides online books and magazines, the ICIF also promoted publications of music, green publication technology and top-selling books.

    Well-known publishing agencies in Shenzhen such as Shenzhen Haitian Publishing House and the Publishing House of Shenzhen Press Group exhibited their best sellers at the ICIF.

    There are 12 publishing agencies and about 106 civic reading workshops in the city. The books published cover literature, economic management, social science, science and technology, children’s reading, medical treatment, chronometer and geography, cuisine, and gardening etc.

    The Shenzhen Haitian Publishing House was established in 1984 and it has published a large number of highly influential works, including “Chinese Literary Classics of 20th Century” (1996), “Chinese Fine Arts Classics of 20th Century” (1998), and “Complete Short Stories of Chehev” (1999) among others. In 2000, it was selected as one of the top 50 publishing houses in China.

    The Publishing House of Shenzhen Press Group also published two works with far-reaching influence in literary circles, such as “Wir Sind Lockvogel, Baby” (2005) by Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek and “Le Sexe Des Larmes” (2005) by French writer Thurnauer Agnès. (Tina Chen)