AI takes center stage at Beijing International Book Fair

The 32nd edition of the Beijing International Book Fair wrapped up on Sunday at the China National Convention Center. The event featured a dedicated online publishing exhibition area that showcased the work of domestic internet enterprises including Tencent, Yuewen Group, and ByteDance's Douyin in cultural preservation, web literature, animation and digital cultural and creative products.

NetEase Youdao, the online education brand of NetEase Inc, demonstrated at its booth how it is applying AI tools to traditional cultural content.

In one exhibit, its desktop AI agent, LobsterAI, generated illustrations for Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) — a collection of ancient myths and stories about celestial beings — in response to audio prompts from staff members. The agent then pulled from design tools, queried classical-text databases, and matched visual references to produce the images.