China enjoys increasing potential in its audiobook market due to an ever-growing demand for high-quality and diverse audio content among citizens.

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Statistics from researcher iiMedia suggest that the value of the country's audiobook market is expected to hit 8.2 billion yuan in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.4 percent from 2016. At the same time, China is expected to have 562 million audiobook users in 2020, with a CAGR of 26.7 percent from 2016.

Data from the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication also show that nearly 30 percent of Chinese people listened to audiobooks in 2018.

More publishing houses are now producing audiobooks. The audiobook is a new point of growth for the publishing industry, said Li Tianshu, deputy chief editor of Beijing Juvenile & Children's Publishing House. Last year, the press published two novels for children, both of which enjoyed good feedback and sales. On that basis, it invited professional directors and actors to record the audio version of the two books.

Jieli Publishing House has produced more than 500 audiobooks, while China Publishing Group has uploaded over 300 audiobooks on Ximalaya FM, a popular audio sharing platform in China, attracting over 400,000 followers.

The industry is also hugely lucrative. Users spent 828 million yuan during a promotion event organized by Ximalaya FM in December 2019. "More users are willing to pay for high-quality content, and content creators can also benefit," said Yu Jianjun, the founder of Ximalaya FM.