(Yicai) Aug. 23 -- The Shanghai Book Fair, an annual event that wrapped up yesterday, drew in nearly 300,000 visitors this year.

More than 20 publishing groups and over 350 publishers brought 180,000 books to the seven-day event and sales jumped 42 percent from 2019’s book fair.

Many visitors brought trolleys and backpacks with them to carry away as many volumes as possible. One regular said they spent CNY1,000 (USD139), while another said they prefer to buy in person at the fair rather than through livestreaming events on Douyin.

The Shanghai Book Fair also held a side event in Sanming, Fujian province for the first time. It attracted 53,000 people and had retail and group-buying sales of CNY4.4 million (USD611,980).

The week before the fair kicked off on Aug. 16, the steering committee asked the organizer to promote activities to help publishers from Zhuozhuo, Hebei province, as their books got soaked after heavy rainfall caused flooding in the area.

The organizers said they will donate CNY1 (14 US cents) for each CNY10 (USD1.39) they received from entrance tickets. Some exhibitors also have pledged to gift a percentage of their sales.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione