In a sign of English taking roots in China, readers in the communist nation were increasingly preferring foreign books in English language rather than their translated versions - boosting the sales of original books.
The growing popularity of English books in China was described as a ‘surge’ by Zhao Wei, publisher at a Beijing- based international publishing house.
Zhao said her publishing house witnessed a double in sales volume in China, declining to reveal the exact number.
According to other publishers based in Beijing and Shanghai, the ‘surge’ has mainly occurred in sales of textbooks, children's books, travel books and novels.
‘Our retail sales of English books and other media at Shanghai Book Fair totalled USD 98,000 in 2011. Last year, we exceeded one million yuan and expect to witness another increase this year,’ said Lang Jin, manager of sales at the Shanghai branch of China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Corporation.
The sharp increase during the week-long book fair reflects the bigger picture of the English book market, Lang was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.
The growing popularity of English books in China was described as a ‘surge’ by Zhao Wei, publisher at a Beijing- based international publishing house.
Zhao said her publishing house witnessed a double in sales volume in China, declining to reveal the exact number.
According to other publishers based in Beijing and Shanghai, the ‘surge’ has mainly occurred in sales of textbooks, children's books, travel books and novels.
‘Our retail sales of English books and other media at Shanghai Book Fair totalled USD 98,000 in 2011. Last year, we exceeded one million yuan and expect to witness another increase this year,’ said Lang Jin, manager of sales at the Shanghai branch of China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Corporation.
The sharp increase during the week-long book fair reflects the bigger picture of the English book market, Lang was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.