The Chinese online literature market has risen rapidly in recent years thanks to wider internet access and the mass availability of smartphones.

From just 203 million in 2011, the number of digital readers in the country rose to nearly 380 million last year, according to iResearch Consulting Group.

The Shanghai-headquartered market research company said revenues also increased significantly during this period. In 2011, the digital literature industry reaped 2.7 billion yuan ($393 million) from paid subscriptions, advertisements and adaptation fees. Six years later, revenue had risen to 15.2 billion yuan.

Online novels have become so popular that publishers produce, or coproduce, the stories in other forms. The China Writers Association said that last year alone, some 2,000 movies, 1,232 TV dramas and 712 animated series were produced based on online novels.

Online literature's rapid growth was also key to the success of China Literature's initial public offering in Hong Kong in November. The digital publisher's IPO had no difficulty raising the targeted $1.1 billion. Amid heavy demand, the retail tranche, or portion, was 620 times oversubscribed.