Foreigners Come to China to be Immortal? Why？

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First chapter of “Battle break through Heavens” 

Western readers have just got to read the final chapter of the hit Chinese online novel “Battle break through Heavens” not long ago which Chinese fans have finished reading it three years ago. Foreign readers are immersing themselves in Wuxia World, a translation website for foreigners home to online fantasy novels.

Wuxia World is popular among foreign audiences, who visit the website 600,000 times per day to read Chinese fiction in the genres of martial arts, immortal heroes, and fantasy. There is certainly a a growing number of foreign readers of Chinese web novels. 

One French fan came to China for two months of intensive martial arts training after reading Chinese web novels for years. An American man even claimed that reading “Coiling Dragon” and other Chinese online novels had cured his drug addiction, according to a report on thebeijinger.com two years ago. 

When “A Record of a Mortal Journey to Immortality’(凡人修仙传) even released trailers and music tracks, the fans went crazy.

There are hundreds of such online forums and sites. Driven by readers, online sites have encouraged a range of genres. The most popular genres are Wuxia 武侠 (martial heroes), Xianxia 仙侠 (immortal heroes) and Xuanhuan 玄幻 (fantasy featuring adventures and wars). Most novels are published as series and regularly updated, sometimes continuing for years. They are rarely published as completed works.

"It's not hard to understand Chinese web novels. For example, fantasy stories and novels related to power struggles in palaces are global topics," said Jongmay Urbonya, an American student in China. His view was echoed by online novelist Li Ruibin who is well-known under her pen name Qinyu. "We felt curious when 'Harry Potter' and 'The Lord of the Rings' were first introduced to China. Similarly, foreign audiences are interested in the Chinese culture and history in our novels," Li said, adding that her concern is whether the current popularity can be maintained in the long run.

"Chinese online literature has a cultural charm and is easily accessible to young foreign audiences. It is a good channel to promote Chinese culture," said Wu Wenhui, CEO of China Reading, a leading authorized digital reading platform. “We endeavor to promote Chinese online novels abroad as a cultural form of soft power.” 

Here are some Website that you can read some fantastic Chinese online novel for free. ( Long press to scan the QR code )

1. Wuxia World 

      2. Online novel reader

3. Novel Full

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