Unseasonably warm, muggy weather did not slow down the action during this year’s China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), which ran November 15-17. Nearly 500 exhibitors from 32 countries and regions attended the fair, and post-event statistics from coorganizer BolognaFiere put attendance at 41,262, including 17,081 professional visitors. A total of 353 professional events, book launches, and reading promotion activities were held. Onsite book sales exceeded RMB 20 million (approximately $2.7 million), and more than 1,200 copyright negotiations were recorded.

Two unique exhibitions took center stage this year. To mark the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's famous trip to China and back to Italy, the “Marco Polo: Traveler, Merchant, Storyteller” exhibit featured about 50 books on the journey. As for “A Fabulous Wardrobe: Fashion, Clothing, and Threads in Children’s Picture Books,” 150 picture books that creatively combine art, literature, and fashion were selected from 21 countries to both inspire and fascinate children and adults alike.

For overseas visitors, a quick glance around the exhibition floor, especially where domestic publishers were located, revealed one big difference between CCBF (and other book events in China) and those held in other countries, particularly in the West: the massive presence of live-streaming. Belgium-based Clavis started live-streaming from its booth a couple of years ago, and it proved so successful in driving direct sales of its English editions that publisher Philippe Werck opened a big warehouse near Shanghai. As Werck put it: “There are new ways of doing things and we need to react quickly to changes that often come fast and furious and grab the opportunities to get ahead.”

The Chinese book industry has indeed changed, and is now in a transition stage. As Yang Lei, executive v-p at OpenBook, stated during his keynote speech on the first day of the fair, the children’s book market in China peaked in 2019, when a decade of annual double-digit growth came to a screeching halt after the pandemic hit. The years since 2019 have seen the industry deal with shifting consumer demands, declining birth rates, new government regulations (on tuition centers and school curriculum, for instance), the effects of the prolonged pandemic lockdown, and new ways of distribution and marketing books.

Now comes the good news: the Chinese children’s book market is getting back on track, albeit slowly. According to OpenBook, which is a clearinghouse for publishing statistics in China, during the first 10 months of 2023, sales fell about 12% from the prior year. Fast forward to the same period this year, and sales in the 10 months were up 5.1%.

The children’s segment remains China's largest category, accounting for 28% of the overall book market through October, up slightly from 26.9% during the first ten months of 2023. So it still is the biggest segment in the industry, further underscoring its potential to domestic and overseas publishers alike. The three major categories in the segment—pop-sci, children’s literature, and picture books—commanded more than 60% of the market segment combined during the first six months of 2024. In 2019, pop-sci represented only 18.49% of the total children’s book market, but had since climbed to 27.43% in the first ten months of 2024.

For many domestic players, the heavy discounting practice used to promote sales, particularly by online influencers and e-commerce platforms, is a major concern. Such unhealthy competition for sales volume is fast becoming a discounting race to the bottom. But more publishers are voicing their discontent with the practice and are boycotting major discount-based shopping festivals and promotional campaigns.

For all of the recent challenges, the Chinese children’s book market, comprised of 370 million children and young adults, remains a big draw for publishers, making CCBF an important stop for companies looking to increase their sales in the country.