China counted over a half billion consumers of online literature last year. The number of overseas users also jumped as the industry is seen as a cultural export tool.
China’s online literature readership has swelled to 575 million, underscoring the growing dominance of digital storytelling in the country’s cultural landscape.
Science Fiction: A Standout Genre
The 2024 China Online Literature Blue Book found that readers aged 26 to 45 make up about half of the total audience. But those born after 2000 are fueling much of the recent growth, accounting for nearly a quarter of all readers, according to a report released on June 17 by the China Writers Association.
The report, based on data from 50 leading online literature platforms across China, estimated that the industry generated around 44 billion yuan in revenue in 2024.
By the end of 2024, China’s online literature catalog had grown to more than 33 million works, with 2 million new titles added, a 7 percent increase from 2023.
High-quality online works continue to emerge across a variety of genres, enriching the fabric of contemporary Chinese literature.
Science fiction, in particular, is shining brilliantly as a standout genre. In 2024 alone, 180,000 new sci-fi titles were published, as the genre continues to gain traction and moves closer to the cultural mainstream.
British Readers Showed Strong Growth
The number of overseas users, meanwhile, reached 352 million, including readers from more than 200 countries. The market grew 16.5% year on year to a value of 5.07 billion yuan.
The report called online literature a new channel for “telling Chinese stories well and deepening exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations.”
With a growth rate of 180%, Japan was the fastest developing foreign market. Britain, Greece, Spain, Brazil, France and Germany also showed strong growth, it said.
Waves of Screen Adaptation
The boom in online storytelling has sparked a wave of screen adaptations, with an increasing number of literary works being reimagined as television dramas, short-form series, animated shows and video games.
Short-form dramas, in particular, have seen a surge in popularity. In 2024, the format drew 662 million users and generated a market value of 50.4 billion yuan. More than 1,600 short dramas adapted from online literature received official licenses, marking an 81 percent increase from the previous year.
Written by Yetao Gu, additional reporting by Xinhua and Reuters.
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