A forum was recently held in Beijing during which participants agreed that such development trend would have an increasingly strong impact on children's literature in China.

 

　　Xu Dexia, director of the Children's Literature Publishing Center at China Children's Press and Publishing Group, believes fantasy fiction will continue to heat up in China this year although it is still in its infancy.

 

　　"Fantasy literature was very successful in catching the spotlight in the publishing industry in 2012. For example, a recent symposium attracted well over 50 writers to attend."

 

　　Xu Dexia, director of the Children's Literature Publishing Center at China Children's Press and Publishing Group, speaks at a forum reviewing the history of Children's Literature. The group published the first edition of the journals in 1963. Xu discussed the publication's future development in Beijing on Friday, January 25, 2013. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]

 

　　Of the fantasy literature, science fiction is highly popular with children. 13-year-old Liu Wangding is a great fan of such books. He is also a member of a local young readers society "Super Reading World".

 

　　"I like reading science fiction, and one of my favorite books is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Fantasy literature satisfies my curiosity, and I'm always interested in learning about science."

 

　　A senior editor of Children's Literature at the China Children's Press and Publishing Group, Feng Zhen, says it is good to see that fantasy literature thrives in China.

 

　　"Fantasy literature is a purely imported genre from western countries. Chinese authors took some getting used to it before being able to produce such stories of their own. That is why there has been a blank period in the domestic market. With the Harry Potter stories introduced into China, such books quickly became popular in this country."

 

　　Feng Zhen, senior editor of the Journals of Children's Literature at China Children's Press and Publishing Group, speaks at a forum reviewing the history of Children's Literature. The group published the first edition of the journals in 1963. Feng discussed the publication's future development in Beijing on Friday, January 25, 2013 in Beijing. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]

 

　　However, Feng Zhen says translated works would not, and should not prevent the development of home grown fantasy literature given the difference between Chinese and western cultures.

 

　　"Western fantasy literature is popular though, but Chinese children have difficulty to fully appreciate such stories simply because of different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, Chinese writers have a huge role to play in helping develop this branch of literature for our young readers."

 

　　Feng Zhen cited the success of "Luoling's Magic", a best seller written by Chinese writer Chen Liuhuan. The book depicts a 13-year-old alien girl growing up on Earth. The series has sold 1.6 million copies since hitting the shelves.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.