Cao Wenxuan (M), children's literature writer [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Hans Christian Andersen Award, regarded as the 'Nobel Prize for children's literature', has been bestowed upon to Cao Wenxuan, the first Chinese to win. Mei Jia reports.

Children's literature writer Cao Wenxuan, 62, has won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his work, the International Board on Books for Young People announced at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair in Italy on Tuesday.

With this award, Cao becomes the first Chinese to claim the world-renowned "Nobel Prize for children's literature".

The win has sparked a wave of excitement among the country's publishing professionals.

"The unanimous choice of the jury, Cao writes beautifully about the complex lives of children facing great challenges," the IBBY jury says in a news release.

"Cao is a great example of how writing wonderful prose and telling stories about brave children facing tremendous difficulties and challenges can attract a very wide and committed child readership as well as helping to shape a literary tradition in China that honors the realities of children's worlds," it adds.

The award is the highest international recognition given to living authors and illustrators of children's books for their whole body of work since 1956. Every year it honors one author and one illustrator.

Out of a short list of five in each category, Cao has won with German illustrator Rotraut Susanne Berner this year.