Covers of two issues of People's Literature, a leading literary journal in China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Most of the articles now appearing on Thinker fall somewhere in between popular genre fiction such as thriller, horror, romance and fantasy that are big online hits and lengthy pieces published in offline journals.

Hu Xuewen, the deputy chairman of Hebei Provincial Writers Association, is a Thinker user. He says: "As a writer, I not only want my works to be read by more people but also wish that all the writers can have more readers.

"As for whether one should pay for the read, I think it won't be a problem for people who really love reading."

The profit model for Thinker lies in its membership. On the app, a six-month VIP membership costs some 12 yuan ($2), which is less than what a single issue of the printed version of People's Literature journal sells for. Half of the revenue on Thinker will be given to writers whose works are published there and the remaining will go to offset the app's operating costs.

At present, however, the number of registered VIP members using Thinker is only around 1,000.

"The rate of the remuneration for writers will be even higher when we have more paying members," Pan says. "We won't leave our writers empty-handed."

In addition to encouraging original and serious literary writing, Thinker is taking another endeavor to digitalize and categorize short stories and essays written by Chinese writers since the May Fourth Movement of 1919, which marked the beginning of a transformative phase in Chinese literature－from one that relied on using classical language to a more modern vernacular-based writing.

In contrast to novels, short stories and essays have less commercial value, but if they could be "systematically digitalized", more readers would be attracted to literary short-form writing, according to Pan.

"The first thing that will come to readers' mind will be us."

According to the Survey of Chinese Internet Development by China Internet Network Information Center, published in January, there were as many as 294 million readers of online literature in China by the end of 2014, a year-on-year growth of 7.1 percent.