On Nanging Road in Shanghai. Image: Zhuyu Fang
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Hefei Reported To Have China’s First ‘Shared Bookstore’
As we report news from the 2017 Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair, we also have our monthly listings on overall Chinese bestselling books, produced through a partnership with OpenBook in China and the US-based distribution network Trajectory. Details of what’s reflected in these charts appears at the end of the story.
‘Trespassers,’ riding high on the China bestsellers list in fiction
Our colleague Rainy Liu reports that there’s a notable trend in China toward publisher-owned bookstores, and this is a phenomenon seen among both private and state-owned publishers.
In August, for example, Liu tells us, the Singapore-based bookstore Page One was acquired by Chinese publisher Thinkingdom Media Group Ltd, which recently was listed as a publicly traded corporation. The company, we’re told, anticipates retaining the Page One brand’s coffeehouse style with food and beverage service in addition to books.
Meanwhile, state-owned publisher Citic Press Group has opened 69 bookstores in close to a dozen airports in China.
‘Fang Hua’ by Yan Gecen, fiction sales boosted by film
Another development attracting retail attention is that of the “shared bookstore,” which is a kind of library service now seen in Beijing and Shanghai. The trend is reported to have been seen first in Hefei, in China’s eastern Anhui province in July.
As an article in People’s Daily describes it, “Customers are allowed to borrow up to two books valued under 150 yuan per visit (US$22.75) after registering with an app and paying the 99 yuan deposit fee (US$15).
“All books on sale in the bookstore are available for the service. Returned books that are damaged are sold at a discount. The bookstore also provides a bonus for bookworms. People who finish reading 12 books in three months receive eight percent of their deposit back, and members can receive one yuan for every book read.”
And when the Saoxiaokou Xinhua Bookstore opened on July 16, the People’s Daily reports, about 4,000 books were taken home before close of business that first day.
OpenBook’s Overall Fiction Bestsellers in China, October 2017
As last month, our attention in October’s charts is drawn to younger authors.
Liu Tong, for example, is highly popular with readers born since the 1990s, and the OpenBook-Trajectory listings see his I’m Waiting for You in the Future stands at No. 2 in fiction. The book is said to ask what one might do if one met oneself from the future or past. “What would you say” to yourself?
Another strong contender, at No. 3 in fiction, is Trespassers, listed for 27 consecutive months, from Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House.
And Fang Hua by Yan Gecen has entered the list at No. 15 in October, in part powered by the film adaptation made by director Feng Xiaogang. The story covers 40 years of a life “both ordinary and significant.”
| Sep 2017 Ranking | Oct 2017 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787544270878 | Apr-14 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 2 | 9787559608949 | Sep-17 | I’m Waiting for You in Future | Liu Tong | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 3 | 9787550024212 | Sep-17 | Trespassers | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 7 | 4 | 9787544267618 | Jun-14 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 3 | 5 | 9787208061644 | Apr-06 | The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 9 | 6 | 9787550013247 | May-15 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 7 | 9787556232215 | Oct-17 | Douluo Continent III: Legend of the Dragon King(20) | Tang Jia San Shao | Hunan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 6 | 8 | 9787500601593 | Aug-05 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| 28 | 9 | 9787544291163 | Aug-17 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Version) | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 8 | 10 | 9787201120713 | Jul-17 | A Matter of Love | Zhang Haochen | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 11 | 9787544258609 | Jan-13 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 22 | 12 | 9787536692930 | Jan-08 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 12 | 13 | 9787530215593 | Jun-17 | To Live | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 10 | 14 | 9787530216781 | Jun-17 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumns) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 15 | 9787020123728 | Apr-17 | Fang Hua | Yan Geling | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 20 | 16 | 9787559603340 | May-17 | Home of the Sleeping Mermaid | Higashino Keigo | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787536693968 | May-08 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 2 | 18 | 9787020008735 | Jul-98 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787229030933 | Nov-10 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 29 | 20 | 9787544285148 | Oct-16 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 21 | 9787229100605 | Jul-16 | The Three-Body Problem (Collector’s Edition) | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 26 | 22 | 9787020090006 | Jul-12 | Fortress Besieged | Qian Zhongshu | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 27 | 23 | 9787540455958 | Jun-12 | The Shadow Thief | Marc Levy | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 17 | 24 | 9787544253994 | May-11 | One Hundred Years of Solitude | Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 13 | 25 | 9787556232222 | Sep-17 | Douluo Continent III: Legend of the Dragon King(19) | Tang Jia San Shao | Hunan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787544285643 | Dec-16 | Salvation of a Saint | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787540458027 | Oct-13 | I Belonged to You | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 28 | 9787544277617 | Jun-15 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 29 | 9787539971810 | Apr-15 | The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry | Gabrielle Zevin | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 16 | 30 | 9787544246279 | Apr-10 | Rickshaw Boy | Lao She | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
OpenBook’s Overall Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, October 2017
In October, the nonfiction market in China was affected by the first of the month’s National Day, frequently a moment that influences strong buying in the sector.
Partly as a result of this seasonal energy, the chart this month is topped by Seven Years as an Educated Youth about China’s president Xi Jinping and his early-life experiences.
More nationally and culturally influenced rankings are at Nos. 2 and 3, with I Won’t and Red Star Over China.
And as we’ve noticed in the past, the works of Da Bing such as Goodwill and Take It Easy remain great favorites, emphasizing what some Chinese are calling “chicken soup for the soul.”
Interestingly, a translation from the West, Kelly McGonigal’s The Willpower Instinct, has appeared on the chart at No. 25.
| Sep 2017 Ranking | Oct 2017 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787503561634 | Aug-17 | Xi Jinping’s Seven Years as an Educated Youth | Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C | Central Party School Press |
| 2 | 2 | 9787540482190 | Aug-17 | I Won’t | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 3 | 3 | 9787020116133 | Jun-16 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 7 | 4 | 9787508672069 | Jan-17 | Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow | Yuval Noah Harari | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 4 | 5 | 9787549550173 | Jan-14 | Seeing Off | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 10 | 6 | 9787550263932 | Nov-15 | Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version) | Gao Ming | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 9 | 7 | 9787508660752 | Feb-17 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 12 | 8 | 9787108042453 | Sep-12 | We Three | Yang Jiang | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
| 6 | 9 | 9787544768535 | Jun-17 | Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk | Lu Xun | Yilin Press |
| 16 | 10 | 9787020130702 | Aug-17 | The Reader (Vol.1) | Dong Qing | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 19 | 11 | 9787539999883 | Mar-17 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon | Er Hunzi | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 5 | 12 | 9787201089140 | Jan-15 | Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk | Lu Xun | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 21 | 13 | 9787540476892 | Jul-16 | Goodwill | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 23 | 14 | 9787540468798 | Sep-14 | Take It Easy | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 14 | 15 | 9787549550159 | Jan-14 | My Child, Just Take Your Time | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 22 | 16 | 9787508671505 | Dec-16 | Speak Well: Fresh and Interesting Speaking Skills | Ma Weiwei, Huang Zhizhong, Zhou Xuanyi | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 13 | 17 | 9787549564125 | Apr-15 | Dear Andrea | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 27 | 18 | 9787540472238 | Jul-15 | May You | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 17 | 19 | 9787535447340 | Feb-14 | The Poignant Culture Traveling | Yu Qiuyu | Changjiang Literature & Art Press Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787559608789 | Aug-17 | Stick with Dreams, Look Forward to Future | Li Shanglong | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 24 | 21 | 9787020083442 | Jan-11 | I and the Temple of Earth | Shi Tiesheng | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 22 | 9787559606051 | Jul-17 | Chinese Classical Poetry Quiz Show (Season 2) (Vol.1) | CCTV “Chinese poetry conference” column group | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787535488473 | May-16 | Walk Alone Freely | Jia Pingwa | Changjiang Literature & Art Press Co.,L td. |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787549529322 | Dec-12 | Insight | Chai Jing | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787514208788 | Jul-13 | The Willpower Instinct (Hardcover) | Kelly McGonigal | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 11 | 26 | 9787530213056 | Aug-13 | Recollections of West Hunan | Shen Congwen | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 28 | 27 | 9787020130719 | Aug-17 | The Reader (Vol.2) | Dong Qing | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 20 | 28 | 9787540482169 | Jul-17 | It’s a Long Journey | Lu Sihao | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 29 | 9787020130726 | Aug-17 | The Reader (Vol.3) | Dong Qing | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787530214787 | Apr-17 | The Stories of the Sahara | Echo Chan | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
We follow the overall charts above now, with our monthly look at rankings of fiction and nonfiction from outside of China.
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers in China, October 2017
| Sep 2017 Ranking | Oct 2017 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787544270878 | Apr-14 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 2 | 9787550024212 | Sep-17 | Trespassers | Claire McFall | UK | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 4 | 3 | 9787544267618 | Jun-14 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 2 | 4 | 9787208061644 | Jun-13 | The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | USA | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 5 | 5 | 9787550013247 | May-15 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | UK | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 11 | 6 | 9787544291163 | Aug-17 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Version) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 3 | 7 | 9787544258609 | Jan-13 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 18 | 8 | 9787020123728 | Apr-17 | Fang Hua | Yan Geling | USA | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 8 | 9 | 9787559603340 | May-17 | Home of the Sleeping Mermaid | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 12 | 10 | 9787544285148 | Oct-16 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 10 | 11 | 9787540455958 | Jun-12 | The Shadow Thief | Marc Levy | France | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 6 | 12 | 9787544253994 | May-11 | One Hundred Years of Solitude | Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 15 | 13 | 9787544285643 | Dec-16 | Salvation of a Saint | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 13 | 14 | 9787544277617 | Jun-15 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 15 | 9787539971810 | Apr-14 | The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry | Gabrielle Zevin | USA | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 14 | 16 | 9787544760843 | Aug-16 | Jane Eyre | Charlotte Bronte | UK | Yilin Press |
| 20 | 17 | 9787544277723 | Jun-15 | Tokio | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 18 | 9787544291170 | Aug-17 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 19 | 19 | 9787201116693 | May-17 | My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry | Fredrik Backman | Sweden | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787544266239 | Sep-13 | Mysterious Night | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, October 2017
| Sep 2017 Ranking | Oct 2017 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787020116133 | Jun-17 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | USA | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 2 | 2 | 9787508672069 | Jan-17 | Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 3 | 3 | 9787508660752 | Feb-17 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 6 | 4 | 9787514208788 | Jul-13 | The Willpower Instinct (Hardcover) | Kelly McGonigal | USA | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 7 | 5 | 9787535732309 | Nov-01 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen William Hawking | UK | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| 9 | 6 | 9787301109489 | Oct-06 | A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.1) | L.S.Stavrianos | USA | Peking University Press |
| 12 | 7 | 9787544762885 | Apr-16 | 84, Charing Cross Road | Helene Hanff | USA | Yilin Press |
| 10 | 8 | 9787301110522 | Oct-06 | A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.2) | L.S.Stavrianos | USA | Peking University Press |
| 8 | 9 | 9787308161459 | Aug-18 | The Silk Roads: A New History of the World | Peter Frankopan | UK | Zhejiang Eniversity Press Co., Ltd |
| 15 | 10 | 9787508650890 | May-15 | Who Moved My Cheese? | Spencer Johnson | USA | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 16 | 11 | 9787300126210 | Sep-10 | Mao: A Biography | Ross Terrill | USA | China Renmin University Press |
| 11 | 12 | 9787544760850 | Jan-17 | Michelangelo / Tolstoy / Beethoven | Romain Rolland | France | Yilin Press |
| 5 | 13 | 9787544710817 | Jun-10 | Souvenirs Entomologiques | Jean-Henri Fabre | France | Yilin Press |
| 13 | 14 | 9787544731799 | Oct-12 | Three Days to See | Helen Keller | USA | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 15 | 9787513903509 | Nov-14 | Jerusalem: The Biography | Simon Sebag Montefiore | UK | Democracy and Construction Press |
| 17 | 16 | 9787544761031 | Dec-16 | Stray Birds | Rabindranath Tagore | India | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787550252585 | May-15 | Secret Garden | Johanna Basford | UK | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 20 | 18 | 9787514205039 | Jul-12 | The Willpower Instinct | Kelly McGonigal | USA | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 19 | 19 | 9787508649719 | Jan-15 | Zero to One | Peter Thiel, Blake Masters | USA | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787544768511 | Jun-17 | Three Days to See (New Edition) | Helen Keller | USA | Yilin Press |
Notes on the Charts
OpenBook
is a privately owned industry-data research firm based in Beijing. It functions somewhat as Nielsen and NDP do from the West, and Nielsen Book Research International has worked with OpenBook in Asian operations.
Trajectory, based near Boston, is an importer of Western-language ebooks and audiobooks into China. Trajectory is also helping China’s largest publishers export their books and audiobooks through a proprietary global ebook distribution network that includes hundreds of retailers as well as library and school distributors.
This data is estimated by OpenBook to represent some 30 to 40 percent of the total sales activity in China. OpenBooks draws point-of-sale data from a total 3,115 stores located in 1,247 cities. These stores include:
- Traditional bookstores
- Supermarkets
- Campus bookstores
- “Professional” stores, which are said to be small stores with a specific industrial or trade focus
- Airport stores
In addition, OpenBook is drawing data from online bookstores of two main types:
- The “Tmall” stores of Alibaba (Tmall is described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
- Ten independent online bookselling retailers
China has some 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them, Trajectory CEO James Bryant clarifies, are government-owned. Private publishers are required to purchase ISBNs for their titles from a publishing company that is government-owned—which, in other words, creates a system in which all ISBNs are in one way or another registered through government channels. The government approves each book published in China.
More charts and rankings from Publishing Perspectives’ China bestsellers can be found here.