Digital reading conference taps into potential of 5G technology

The combination of 5G technology and digital reading was among the highlights at the fifth China Digital Reading Conference 2019, which kicked off in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, on April 12.

In an exhibition hall set up by China Mobile and Chinese online reading platform Migu Reading, readers who put on virtual and augmented reality equipment were able to experience scenes from their favorite books as if they were really there.

The event marked the first attempt at combining digital reading with 5G technology.

"The 5G technology is expected to bring about some major changes in the publishing industry and further propel its development," said Bao Hogjun, president of Zhejiang Publishing United Group.

The three-day event brought together 1,500 influential figures from digital publishing and cultural industries to tap into the potential of digital reading.

A white paper on digital reading in China in 2018 was issued during the opening ceremony. The paper explored the standards, user habits and future trends of China's digital reading industry.

According to the paper, e-reading is growing in popularity in China with about 432 million Chinese people having read digital publications on electronic devices in 2018. An average of 12.4 digital publications were read per person.

The value of China's digital reading market reached 25.5 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) last year, up 19.6 percent year on year, said the report.

In terms of genre, fiction, success literature and books in social sciences and the humanities were the most popular among people aged between 25 and 30, while novels and campus literature were favored by those aged between 14 and 18.

The top 10 digital works and projects of 2018 as well as the 10 cities with the highest number of digital readers and highest number of reading activities in the last year were also revealed during the conference.

This year's event was co-hosted by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, publicity departments of Hangzhou and Zhejiang province.