Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) A cross-Taiwan Strait book fair opened in Taiwan Wednesday for the first time in its two-year history, hoping to boost publishing exchanges between Taiwan and China with a five-day exhibition and eventually make Chinese publishing the world's mainstream in the future.
Approximately a million books from Taiwanese and Chinese publishers are on display in the Cross-Strait Book Fair (CSBF) that will run through Sept. 24, the organizers said at the opening ceremony.
The inaugural CSBF was held in the Chinese city of Xiamen last year and was the first sales opportunity in China for Taiwanese publishers.
As bilateral publishing exchanges and sales have increased, more Chinese publishers have set their eyes on the Taiwan market, with 196 publishers from China participating in the fair, said Huang Guorong, deputy secretary-general of the Publishers Association of China.
According to a report released by the Xiamen International Book Center, Chinese purchases of Taiwanese books exceeded NT$24 million in 2005 and is expected to break the NT$40 million mark this year, Huang said.
Taiwan's purchases of Chinese books in 2005 totaled NT$68 million, the report went on.
The most popular categories of Chinese books in Taiwan include literature, art, history and ancient materials, while Chinese are most interested in Taiwanese history, literature and philosophy, said CSBF organizing committee chairman Wang Cheng-hui.
Rarely seen replica ancient books from China, such as the Yongle Encyclopedia and the Imperial Collection of the Four -- the biggest collection of books in Chinese history, are also displayed in a theme section at the fair.