National book trading expo opens

BEIJING,April 30-- The eastern
coastal city of Qingdao is hosting an auxiliary event to the 19th National Book
Trading Expo in Jinan. Available at the book carnival are some 160 thousand
titles from more than four hundred domestic publishers.

The Book Expo's Qingdao branch is the largest ever
show of its kind in the port city. The development of China's publishing
industry is presented through print publications, animation and video games,
copyrights, and periodicals.

On display are results of heavyweight projects like
"The Complete Canon of Chinese Literature" and "Commentaries on Chinese
Thinkers." Also available are more accessible and affordable titles. Even better
are the discounts.

Book buyer Zhong Wei said, "I haven't added them up
yet. These books cost about three thousand yuan. I believe. All of them are at
discounted prices, mostly thirty to fifty percent. I never had such bargains at
bookstores. I love classical literature, so I bought all these books."

Many of the books deal with social sciences,
literature and arts, and the 60-year history of the People's Republic of China.

Most evident is the increasing integration of
traditional publishing operation with the new media.

Industry insiders say Internet literature is emerging
as a staple of contemporary fictional readings in China. Publishers are turning
their eyes to popular novels and stories carried on the Internet, which has
proved a bonanza for future bestsellers.

Government figure show China's publishing sector has
seen an impressive growth rate of more than 20-percent over last year. Efforts
are underway to build a number of multimedia publishing conglomerates by 2015.

(Source: CCTV.com)