“As a child born in the 1980s into a teacher’s family, I had access to lots of books. I liked the really thick ones, because I seldom read them and only used them for my collection of pressed flowers and leaves, so the thicker, the better,” Bai Cha said.

“But my illustrations are inspired by cartoons. When I get stuck, I read the masters’ works again and again in search of solutions or inspiration,” he added.

Organized by the China Publishing Group and Shandong University, the event sought to boost reading and spur interest in popular cultural topics that are also enlightening.

The readers at the Jinan Library, where the event was held, were able to meet the writers and ask questions, while 600,000 more watched the conference online on multiple platforms.

The National Book Expo, which ended on Monday, attracted 1,700 publishers and institutions and exhibited 400,000 titles.