The Legend of Nezha, a very popular cartoon book based on an ancient Chinese folktale, has replaced Harry Potter and became the best-selling children's reader in the Beijing Bookstore Building, the largest bookstore in Beijing.

The first of the book's 10 volumes were published in June 2003,and during last Spring Festival the remaining five volumes were published.

"The first three weeks of January just before the Spring Festival, Harry Potter remained on the top of the list of best-sellers of children's literature. But after the Spring Festival, or the fourth week of January, the sales of Legend of Nezha rose to be No. 1," said Liu Jianhong with the bookstore.

In 1979, China had published the most famous part of the Legend of Nezha. This time, the book included almost all the stories about Nezha: how the little naughty, lively boy experienced a series of untold hardships and finally became a hero to fight for justice.

"I love the Legend of Nezha because it has so many wonderful new stories and new characters," said nine-year-old Ma Wenqian.

A netizen named "Cherry Flower" online said: "I'm a primary school kid. We are to have the final exam now, but I still find time to read the Legend of Nezha."

Harry Potter, which set records in book sales in the world, also sells very well in China. The fifth volume alone has sold more than 25,000 copies at the Beijing Bookstore Building.

"It suits children of older ages better and a large amount of buyers are adults," noted Liu. But the Legend of Nezha is more welcome among small children who can do only a little reading.

Local children's readers appears to be less competitive as compared with imported children's books because it sounds more like preaching to the neglect of the children's needs, acknowledged Liu.

Foreign children's readers only form part of children's literature and Chinese traditional culture also has its own attraction to children, said Qin Wenjun, a children's author.

The Legend of Nezha has been republished 14 times and sold out more than 420,000 copies. The TV cartoon series, based on the same folktale, also has kept a high audience rating since it was broadcast the first time last June 1.

"This shows the Chinese traditional culture has an enduring life and children's literature of this kind has a wide space of development," said Du Fusheng, president of People's Posts and Telecommunications Publishing House, publisher of the book.

(People's Daily  June 1, 2004)