TV show host Le Jia with his fans after the signing of his book True Color.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Late last year, when Le Jia, 39, a man who rose to fame as a commentator on a popular TV dating show, was about to launch his new book, his publisher decided to hold a public signing event in Beijing, raising funds for the event through a crowd funding website. The stunt worked to promote Le's book.

People who ordered and paid through the crowd funding website for more than two copies, paying 76 yuan ($12), got a ticket for the signing. The publisher predicted it would take a month to raise 50,000 yuan to run the event－it took less than 20 days.

To the publisher's surprise, the book, Ben Se, or True Color, sold 500,000 copies in a few months, and now is already down nearly 700,000 copies.