Big picture book market lures overseas publishers

BEIJING - Despite the exhibition hall's vast size and being filled with hundreds of children, there is no running, screaming or fighting. Instead, the children are all calmly holding picture books, attentively reading. The Beijing International Book Fair is now in its 24th year, but the picture book exhibition only started in 2015 and quickly became a hit with parents and children alike.

Liang Dan, 33, cuddles her son at a corner of the fair, reaches for a book, opens it and begins reading softly. Her son's eyes are glued to the drawings.

"I came here alone in 2015, but have brought my son every year since," she says. "There are picture books from all over the world and my son likes them a lot."