Children's books were a highlight at Beijing International Book Fair, which concluded Sunday.

This year, an exhibition of children's books covering around 20,000 square meters was held for the first time as part of the fair, China's key international book fair and copyright trading platform.

Firms and publishers from countries including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and France displayed different kinds of books, such as picture books, pop-up books, audio-books, comics and graphic novels, at the exhibition.

As Chinese parents attach more importance to the reading and education of their children, and the country has ended its decades-long one-child policy, the children's book market in China has great potential with growing demand.

According to an industry report, China's retail book market size surpassed 80 billion yuan (about $11.6 billion ) in 2017, up 14.55 percent year on year. Children's books were the main driver of market growth, with the children's sector accounting for over one-third of the overall growth in the Chinese market.