A reader leafs through a book on display at the 15th Cross-Straits Book Fair held in Xiamen, Fujian province on Sept 22-24. [Photo/Xinhua]

The three-day 15th Cross-Straits Book Fair held in Xiamen, Fujian province on Sept 22-24 attracted nearly 230,000 readers, a record level for the annual event, according to local media reports.

Some 700,000 books from 200,000 categories went on display and the on-site book ordering totaled 50.7 million yuan ($7.13 million), a 10.3 percent increase than the 13th fair, according to the organizers.

A total of 26 companies from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan inked 396 cooperation agreements covering copyright business, distribution agents and digital content and involving total investment of roughly 600 million yuan, a 12.5 percent increase compared with the 13th book fair.

The organizers said that this year's book fair seemed greatly improved on previous editions in its exhibition area, book varieties and support activities.

The 15th fair boasted a 34,500-square meter exhibition area with one main venue in Xiamen and five branch venues in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Putian.

The main venue, Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center, covered an exhibition area of 13,500 square meters, 70 percent larger than the 13th Cross-Straits Book Fair, and accommodated more than 540 publishing agencies from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao and over 360 public and university libraries.

Since its inception in 2005, the cross-Straits book fair has showcased 10 million books and witnessed the purchase of 510 million worth of books and the signing of 3,022 cooperation agreements between Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

The 16th Cross-Straits Book Fair is expected to take place in Taiwan in 2020, according to its organizers.

In recent years, cross-Straits book copyright exchanges have been active, with transactions of more than 2,500 copyrighted items taking place annually.

According to official statistics, in 2018 the Chinese mainland authorized 798 publication copyrights from Taiwan and exported 1,449 from the mainland to Taiwan.