Reading their hearts

As Valentine's Day falls on Chinese New Year's Day this year, both love and debate are in the air. And the changing times and views of amorousness can be read in the revival of romance novels, Qiu Yijiao reports

Attitudes toward love have changed over the past three decades, and so has the passion for romance novels.

Readers in the Chinese mainland are no longer eyeing Western stories by Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters, or sentimental tales by Taiwan's Chiung Yao (Qiong Yao) and Xi Juan. Instead, they've shifted their attention to local writers.