Digital reading is a big trend in China. But most of the people in this country are not glued to their Kindles or Nooks, since everything can now be read conveniently on a cellphone. Industry leaders are gathering at the second China Digital Reading Conference in Hangzhou to look at whats new in e-book technology.

Industry leaders are gathering at the second China Digital Reading Conference in Hangzhou to look at whats new in e-book technology.

More than 900 business leaders from a number of industries, including digital publishing and internet technology, are attending this year’s China Digital Reading Conference in Hangzhou.

The conference includes a wide range of speeches and forums to highlight latest trends in the e-book industry.

“This year’s event aims to create an innovative and green environment for China’s digital reading market. Hopefully the China Digital Reading Conference can serve as a platform to connect industry leaders and common readers, to come up with better ways to read and create better quality reading materials,” said Sun Shoushan, deputy director of State Administration of Radio, Film & Television.

Visitors can explore the latest digital technologies at the event. In addition to e-book devices, cellphones and laptops, AR and VR technologies also provide a smart and interactive reading experience.

“Our reading habit has really changed in the past decade. It used to be very private but now reading has a social element. There’s a rising reading community, both online and offline, where groups of people with similar values read and exchange their views. That’s becoming a real trend,” said Wu Xiaobo, writer.

A report released at the conference analyzed China's digital reading market in 2015. According to the “White Book,” the number of digital readers in China has reached 300 million people. And the most popular digital reading device last year was the cellphone.

The report also identified a significant increase in revenue for the digital reading industry. Total revenue for 2015 was 440 billion yuan.