In recent years, as the government has worked hard to promote Chinese contemporary literature to the world, Chinese fantasies, espionage fiction, children's books and mystery novels have received growing acclaim among overseas readers, thanks to the authors' wild imaginations, great storytelling skills and the allure of Chinese culture, experts say.

In February the English version of the Chinese martial arts classic A Hero Born: Legends of Condor Heroes volume one by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood, came out in Britain.

Its editor, Paul Engles, has been working with MacLehose Press in London for seven years, mainly editing translations of, for example, crime fiction and literary fiction, in addition to works by English-language authors and nonfiction.

Within a month of its publishing, the book had gone through seven print runs.

"The Jin Yong project is perhaps the most exciting I have been part of, because his books mean so much to so many people," Engles says.

"I'm happy to say that the critical response has been very favorable in the UK.... The series has not yet started to come out in the United States, and rights have seen sold to Germany, Italy, Finland, Portugal and Hungary."