TAIYUAN -- The number of digital reading users in China reached 670 million in 2024, marking a 17.52 percent year-on-year increase, according to a report on digital reading released on Wednesday.

The report was released at a national reading conference that kicked off in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, coinciding with the 30th World Book and Copyright Day on Wednesday.

The report showed that the overall revenue of China's digital reading market in 2024 amounted to 66.14 billion yuan (about $9.2 billion), up 16.65 percent from a year earlier.

The total number of digital reading works in China topped 63 million, with a year-on-year increase of 6.31 percent. Of this total, online literature and e-books accounted for 67.55 percent, while audio reading materials made up 32.45 percent.

This year's conference, the fourth edition since its launch, will run through Friday.

With the theme focused on fostering reading habits and building China into a culturally strong nation, the event features a variety of activities, including forums on digital reading, rural reading initiatives, and the protection of reading rights.

A curated list of outstanding recommended books will be released, and a diverse range of lectures will be held during the event.