The industry is now worth $1.4 billion as the online reading craze tempts the big Internet players to move into the sector

It's a Monday morning and the Beijing subway train is packed. Liu Chang squeezes into a carriage and takes out her smartphone to read the latest chapter of an engrossing Chinese novel.

"I love to read books, but it's difficult to read them on a crowded train," said Liu, 24, a computer programmer.