Audio-books have become a publishing phenomenon, and technological advances mean they are more accessible than ever. This was also in evidence at the Shanghai Book Fair with an online app to record and listen to the spoken word.

Ximalaya FM

Television producer Bi Yi has been uploading audio clips to this app called Ximalaya FM since the beginning of the year. More than 60,000 people like him have uploaded around one million audio books onto the platform since the app was launched two years ago.

"In the beginning, I wanted to practice my Chinese through reading, so I started to use the app. I love to read books about Chinese and Western history, and some classic novels. And these types of books have gained a high click rate in my Ximalaya account," Bi said.

Bi cuts up the books he reads into 30 minute clips, as anything longer will turn off listeners. He says that's because a lot of people listen on their commute to and from work.

"My parents inspired me to upload the audio books. They are getting old so their eyes get tired from reading. But now I taught them to use this app, so they listen to my readings on the app very often. I think it is a good way for old or disabled people to "read" books, and also for those who don't have much time for reading," he said.

Ximalaya FM

"I buy books but I also like this way, because my eyes get tired easily," said a user.

"I listen to stories and English books on the app. It's really easy to use on the phone or computer," said another user.

Ximalaya says the audio book market is well-developed in some western countries. In the United States, more than 5% of the population purchased at least one audio book last year. But the market is far less developed here in China.

"We have the copyright for all of the books on our app. We want to build a platform with quality books and good readers, so we selected some outstanding readers and train them from time to time, in order to maintain the quality for listeners," said Zhang Yongchang, Marketing Director of Ximalaya FM.

China publishes more books than any other nation, but each person reads, on average, only about five books a year.