Exploring new literary territory

At the end of 15 months of grueling writing assignments, 22-year-old Xiao Kaiyin, 25-year-old Ye Chan, 19-year-old Chen Long and 21-year-old Lu Lili, were basking in the comforting glow of the English sunshine.

In June, the talented foursome, who beat more than 60,000 contestants to finish in the final four of the Next contest, won a trip to the United Kingdom, sponsored by Penguin Books, and got a chance to visit the sites where Wordsworth wrote his poetry (Lake District) and Shakespeare performed (Globe Theatre).

Led by the redoubtable Guo Jingming, who, at 27, seems to have a huge chunk of China's young readers in his grip despite the charges of plagiarism against him, the winners had a rollicking time. Having Guo for company added to the charm of the all-expenses-paid, educational trip designed to give talented young Chinese writers a feel of the UK's publishing industry and general cultural milieu.