Creative writing is budding

Creative writing programs, which teach the craft of writing novels, poetry and other literary forms, originated in the United States in the 1930s. More universities in China have adopted them in recent years - most recently Peking University and Beijing Normal University. Tongji University has announced plans to start a similar program next year.

In the past five years, about a dozen universities and colleges have begun to offer creative writing degree programs or introduce similar units into traditional Chinese literature programs.

One of the reasons for the emergence of creative writing in China is the country's booming cultural industry, which has grown at an average annual rate of above 15 percent in the past decade. The proliferation of Internet literature websites, the budding of Chinese cartoons and animation, and the lucrative domestic film and television industry have created a huge demand for creative people who can deliver their ideas in writing.