Chinese readers are spending more time with e-books – regardless of the coronavirus pandemic
- Chinese users consumed 7.2 billion reads using online platforms during February, amounting to 330 million hours of reading
- In 2019 the digital reading market grew 13.5 per cent year on year to 29 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion), with 470 million users
Gaming is not the only leisure activity getting a boost from all the people stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
More Chinese are now doing their reading online, with 70 per cent of users spending more time on reading this past Lunar New Year holiday, a new report shows.
Chinese digital reading platforms signed up 100 million new users in February after the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) called on industry players to offer some of their digital resources for free, according to an industry whitepaper published by CADPA on Thursday.
Digital reading includes the consumption of e-books incorporating text and pictures, as well as audiobooks, on electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and via smart speakers.
Chinese users consumed 7.2 billion reads using online platforms during February – when the outbreak struck the country the hardest – amounting to 330 million hours of reading, according to the CADPA report. A daily average of 133 million mobile devices logged on to reading apps during this Lunar New Year holiday, compared to 125 million during the same period last year.
