THE first National Conference on Reading concluded in Beijing in late April with digital reading taking the spotlight. With advances in technology and the popularization of the mobile internet, digital reading has become a new driving force to encourage people of all ages in China to read.

According to the China digital readership report 2021 released during the conference, the number of digital book readers in China reached 506 million in 2021, up 2.43% year on year.

The overall scale of China’s digital reading market reached 41.57 billion yuan (US$6.3 billion) last year, marking a year-on-year growth of 18.23%, according to the report mainly compiled by the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association.

As a growing trend, audio reading attracted over 800 million active users in China last year, an increase of 230 million over 2020, said Fan Weiping, president of the China Federation of Radio and Television Associations.

China’s digital reading products, especially online literature, have become more and more popular in overseas markets. Over 400,000 Chinese digital books were released abroad last year, with fantasy and martial arts among the most popular themes, according to the industry report. (Xinhua)