The number of digital content readers in East China's Zhejiang province rose by 8.6 percent year-on-year to 26.58 million in 2020, according to a report on digital reading in Zhejiang.

The report was released at the seventh Zhejiang Book Fair in Ningbo on Oct 10.

In 2020, the revenue of the digital reading market in Zhejiang reached 3.717 billion yuan ($571.8 million), accounting for about 10.6 percent of the nation's total. 

Digital content readers from the province read an average of 9.7 e-books and 6.1 audio books last year. Those who read e-books almost every day accounted for 73.7 percent, reflecting the high level of reading engagement, according to the report.

Mobile phones were the most frequently used tools for digital reading in Zhejiang, followed by computers.

Literary novels, especially fantasy and mystery novels, were the favorite genre of e-books in the province.

More than 87 percent of digital content readers once paid for their content, and 34 percent are willing to pay more than 20 yuan for a single e-book.

The report also showed that the overall satisfaction of digital content readers in Zhejiang reached 95.3 percent, with nearly 80 percent praising the plots and storylines of e-books.

Hangzhou topped the province in the report's ranking for digital reading, followed by Ningbo, Jinhua, Jiaxing, Wenzhou and Shaoxing.

Digital content readers from Ningbo read an average of nine e-books in 2020 and had an average reading span of 86 minutes per day.