The2014 Beijing Book Fair attracted big crowds and shined a spotlight on some of the biggest publishing trends in China. Mei Jia and Sun Ye report.
The 2014 Beijing Book Fair attracted 85,000 book lovers, who attended a host of events throughout the city.
The fair has a stronger focus on the domestic market than the annual Beijing International Book Fair, which is more focused on international copyright trade and exchange.
Hailed as a weathervane of Chinese publishing, the book fair has been held every year since 1987. This year, the fair put a spotlight on interesting trends in Chinese publishing.
According to the organizing committee, it showcased more than 500,000 titles across nearly 2,300 booths from 859 publishers. The fair's financial transactions reached an estimated 3.45 billion yuan ($570 million)if calculated by the cover price.
Several book fair events featured the country's top writers, whose works have a solid fan base.
Chinese-American writer Yan Geling attended the fair to pro-mote her new novel The Ma Kok City. Yan's work, especially her historical novels, have been adapted by film directors, such as Zhang Yimou, and have attracted praise from Chinese and English language readers.
"This is the first time I have attempted to delve into contemporary Chinese society and present a contemporary story. I find myself busily following the updates as China changes dramatically. Every three months after my last visit, I see things differently," Yan says, adding she writes carefully to avoid the tone of someone who lives abroad.
"Because my readers are in the same situation as the character in the novel. They know today's China better than me, so they will be quick to judge," she says.
Based on Yan's research and interviews in Macao casinos, The Ma Kok City tells the story of a female junket operator working for the Ma Ge casino. From 2008 to 2012, she's involved in relationships with three gamblers.
"The novel has an exciting setting and Yan grasps the details of human nature well. Her characters are vivid and her storytelling is powerful," says critic Meng Fanhua.
Yan spends her days reading, watching films and taking her daughter to ballet classes, but still finds time to write 3,000 characters a day. She says the real stories of the real-life junket operators are even more exciting and surreal than the details in her book.
"I've sent back the draft to her for a nod. She likes the story," Yan says.
While Yan has been charting new territory in her work, Sichuan-based Tibetan writer Alai shifts to non-fiction as he recounts the lesser-known history of the Kham area in Zhandui: The Melted Iron Knot, published by Sichuan Literature and Arts Publishing House.
The former chief-editor of the magazine Science Fiction World, Alai contributes to Chinese-language literature with his understanding of the Tibetan people and their stories and culture. His notable works include Red Poppies, which won him the Mao Dun Literature Prize, and King Gesar, known as the longest epic about the legendary monarch.
In researching King Gesar, Alai got to know the area Zhandui (Nya-rong), meaning "iron knot" in Tibetan language, and its history of battles and skirmishes before the 1930s. Located in Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Zhandui had tens of thousands of residents during Emperor Yongzheng's reign (1722-35).The Qing emperors sent armies to Zhandui seven times, with battles occurring over hundreds of years.
"I prepared for two years, visiting and searching for materials, and finished the book in the third year," Alai says.
"I write about the cause and effect of conflicts, hoping to help soothe pains and eliminate further conflict. I hope my writing can help to preserve and protect the diversity of ethnic cultures that form the country's overall cultural identity.."
The series Representative Works of Chinese Wood-block New Year Picture (by Qingdao Press, in both English and Chinese)has just released two volumes, focusing on China's north and south, representing the two different styles with distinct origins. Author Feng Jicai compiled the books, with help from Russian and Japanese museums.
"It has gathered together all the material we've looked at since the search started in 2002 and shows the importance of the New Year Picture for China," Feng writes.
Besides the big-name writers, Writers Publishing House released two new novels by Bian Zhengfeng on the history of a family of traditional Chinese medicine sellers, titled Tales of the Tai'an House, and the debut novel Wu Jin Cang, a time-traveling story by PangBei.
During the fair, pop band Yu Quan and actor Zhang Tielin launched books about their lives in the entertainment industry. Actor Li Yapeng took part in a forum about independent bookstores.
The trend of stars' visits is not new, but this year it was more noticeable than usual.
Many new books are spin-offs from video games, TV programs and animations, including Modern Press'Speed Hunter series and City of the Dusk, China Children's Press and Publication Group's The Magic Ayo, and books on the popular TV show Dad, Where Are We Going?
"The market demand is like a concert baton that points the direction for us," says Zang Yongqing, editor-in-chief of the Modern Press. "The targeted readers for us are the younger readers. So we try to plan new books from other popular media.
"We see the trend there, and we can't see a reason not to attempt new ways of doing books."
Zang believes books that have grown out of games or TV programs offer instant popularity and beautiful covers, but content is still important.
In recent years, China Children's Press and Publication Group's cooperation with Popcap in publishing Plants vs Zombies storybook series has earned huge success, with the series selling 17 million copies.
The group made 400 million yuan in revenue in 2013, including 12 million in digital publishing.
"We will copy the mode of the Plants vs Zombies books to build on that success, and carry on the digital transfer and take on global publishing," says the group's president Li Xueqian.
Li adds the science fiction stories in Magic Ayo, also written by experienced children's book writers like with the zombie series, will be their next project.
During the fair, the group showed new way of reading children's books: a simples can from any smart device and the books turn 3-D with sounds effects on the devices' screen.
Contact the writers at meijia@chinadaily.com.cn and sunye@chinadaily.com.cn.
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