BEIJING: The Chinese online literature industry continued to grow last year, offering readers more quality works, and the development of related intellectual property accelerated, according to a report released on Monday.
The 2023 Report on the Development of Chinese Online Literature, released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Literature, mapped the latest development trends in the online literature industry from the perspectives of value positioning, themes, the creative ecosystem, intellectual property and international development.
The report found that by the end of last year, the market value of Chinese online literature had reached 40.4 billion yuan ($5.6 billion), up 3.8 percent year-on-year, while the market value of intellectual property in Chinese online literature jumped nearly 10 billion yuan to 260 billion yuan.
The number of writers surpassed 24 million, the number of works rose to 36.2 million, and the number of users was up 9 percent at 537 million — nearly half the number of internet users in China.
One distinct trend was an increase in the number of good-quality works.
On Qidian, the domestic online platform of China Literature Group, one of the biggest online literature providers in China, the number of works that saw each of their chapters attract 100,000 subscribers was up 75 percent year-on-year.
Top works such as Daogui Yixian (The Unruly Immortals), Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Walker) and Suming Zhihuan (Circle of Inevitability) broke reading records. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
