China Literature's English-language platform lures 10m overseas readers

Shanghai-based China Literature Limited, the country's biggest online literature platform, has drawn more than 10 million overseas visitors since debuting its English-language platform one year ago.

Listed in Hong Kong last year, China Literature has published 150 translated works and 620 original works on the English-language platform Webnovel. The new platform, which brings Chinese online literature to the world, was founded in May  2017.

The overseas readers come from North America, Southeast Asia and Europe, which account for one-third each. The most popular categories are martial arts, fantasy, sci-fi and game. The platform will expand its offering to Chinese traditional literature, sport, military, tourism and gourmet topics, said China Literature.

The platform has attracted more than 1,000 overseas authors and published over 620 works since April, when it opened to overseas authors.

Users can use the online platform's diversified payment options to pay by chapter, by clicking advertisements to unlock new chapters, and a "wait or pay" in which they wait to pay for the latest chapters or pay to read the latest chapters as soon as the authors finish writing them. It plans to offer paid subscriptions later in the United States and Europe, said Chen Shanshan, head of the Webnovel platform.