Mainland digital works draw young visitors at Taipei book fair

TAIPEI -- At the ongoing six-day 2026 Taipei International Book Exhibition in Taiwan, where most books are printed in traditional Chinese characters, the Simplified Chinese Books Pavilion is not located in a prominent area, and yet groups of young visitors can frequently be seen stopping there to browse.

Jointly organized by Taiwan-based Chinese Creation Publishing Co., Ltd. and Xiamen International Book Company Limited, located in Fujian province in east China, the pavilion is showcasing nearly 8,000 simplified Chinese books, with digital literature works from the mainland attracting the largest gatherings of young readers.

Lo Ssu-Chia, a 15-year-old secondary school student, came to the pavilion with her friend on the opening day of the book fair on Tuesday and purchased a five-volume print edition of a mainland online novel.

Lo said she began reading works by the author of this novel about a year ago. She and her friends also read novels by other mainland writers online.

"Their writing styles and storylines are very appealing. Compared with online fiction in Taiwan, many mainland works feel more literary to me," she said.

Although Lo had already finished reading the digital version of the novel she bought, she still wanted to buy the printed edition, which is not easy to obtain since only limited copies were published.

"So I decided to try my luck at the book fair. I saw news about the exhibition online and came on the first day of the event. I also came to the Simplified Chinese Books Pavilion last year, but found then that the books I had wanted had already sold out," she said.

Eason Wang, marketing director of Chinese Creation Publishing, said many visitors arrive with specific titles in mind. Readers of different age groups have varying interests, with those under 30 mainly seeking mainland digital literature and comics.

"Female readers and students are particularly keen on these works. Related content is also easily accessible on platforms such as Rednote, Douyin and Bilibili," he noted.

College student Mina Lin and her friend were also among the young visitors stopping in front of shelves featuring mainland digital literature titles and discussing these books. "I usually pick novels from rankings on mainland online literature platforms to read in my spare time," she said.

The 19-year-old added that her favorite genres include campus stories and infinite-flow fiction, in which protagonists are pulled from their reality into a series of parallel worlds where they must survive various dangers or complete challenging tasks.

"I care a lot about plot, and these stories tend to be very engaging," she said.

Besides simplified Chinese editions, some mainland digital literature and comic works are also displayed in their traditional Chinese editions at the exhibition, with these editions produced by Taiwan-based publishers.

At one Taiwan-based publisher's booth, a volume of the popular mainland comic series "If History Were a Group of Cats" ranked first on the publisher's list of best sellers. Featuring cat characters that retell Chinese history in a humorous and down-to-earth style, the series has become popular among young readers in Taiwan and has been recommended to students by a number of schools.

Chin Yu-Tzu, 28, traveled from Keelung to Taipei for the exhibition. Upon spotting a traditional Chinese edition of the popular mainland online novel series "Daomu Biji (Grave Robbery Notes)" on display, she soon decided to purchase two volumes.

"I've already read the other volumes online, and these two are the only ones I haven't read yet," Chin said, adding that she first watched a television adaptation of the series before becoming a fan of the original novels.

"I like the detective elements and the thrilling tomb-raiding plots, and the characters are also very appealing," she said.

Wang Cheng-hui, general manager of Chinese Creation Publishing, said cultural intellectual properties from the mainland have grown increasingly popular among young people in Taiwan in recent years, boosting sales of related publications and cultural products.

In addition to books, the Simplified Chinese Books Pavilion also displays a series of mainland cultural and creative products incorporating innovative designs with traditional cultural elements. These include horse ornaments featuring patterns from Song brocade, and calendars themed on ancient Shanxi architecture, which has gained renewed attention following the popularity of the game "Black Myth: Wukong."

"We hope that the Simplified Chinese Books Pavilion can serve as a window for young people in Taiwan to gain a more direct understanding of social development and cultural trends on the mainland," Wang said.