Chinese web novels (known as 网文) are the best reading material for a second-language learner. They are cheap (sometimes even free), easily accessible, have shorter chapters, and are compatible with pop-up dictionary reader tools such as Readibu and Yomitan.
Web novels are hugely popular in China, with dozens of platforms to choose from, but not all platforms are easily accessible to you as a language learner not based in China.
In this post, I will show you the best and most accessible platforms for reading Chinese web novels to help you further improve your Chinese.
Disclaimer: This list is based on personal experience, and is ordered from my favourite and most used to the ones I don’t often use or haven’t used at all.
The Best Ways to Read Chinese Web Novels as a Language Learner
For a language learner, reading Chinese web novels is a huge challenge. Luckily, there are tools to help you make the experience much smoother.
- Readibu, a free mobile reader app
- Top Features:
- Built-in pop-up Chinese-to-English dictionary, designed especially for Chinese learners.
- Search for web novels on JJWXC, Gongzi/Changpei, and Qidian without leaving the app!
- Formats: EPUB, TXT, and PDF
- Bonus feature: It can extract text directly from a website
- Readibu is my top recommendation, the best option with no set-up; having your web novels on your phone at all times will help you read more!
- Top Features:
- Pleco Document Reader
- What is it? It’s a paid add-on to Pleco that lets you read EPUB and TXT files and access all your Pleco dictionaries in a pop-up window.
- The best option for quick access to Pleco dictionaries while reading.
- Browser pop-up dictionaries
- Yatsu Reader, a free browser-based reader
- Top Features:
- Wide range of options to customise your reading experience
- Reading statistics
- Integration with Anki.
- Formats: EPUB, TXT
- Bonus Feature: It’s fully functional with Yomitan.
- The best option for reading EPUB files on your computer.
- If you have an Android phone, you can run Yatsu Reader and Yomitan in a browser that supports extensions, such as Firefox.
- Top Features:
- Android e-ink readers, such as Boox and Bigme
- What is it? Devices with screens that offer a paper-like experience. Made for reading!
- Caveat: E-Ink devices have much slower frame rates; therefore, apps and tools are more sluggish on those devices.
- Perfect if you want a dedicated reading device. The Android system allows you to use your favourite app on a paper-like screen.
The Common Web Novel Structure
Most web novel platforms share a similar pricing model and structure.
All platforms let you sample a portion for free, usually the first ~20 chapters, though extra-long novels may offer the first 80–100 chapters for free.
After the free chapters, you can either unlock chapters one by one or buy them in batches.
This is done using the platform’s own coins/tokens, which you typically purchase in amounts ranging from a few hundred to thousands at once.
The number of coins required is usually based on chapter length (character count).
1. 晋江文学城 (JJWXC)
JJWXC is one of China’s longest-running web novel platforms with a strong focus on romance, danmei (Chinese boys’ love), and baihe (Chinese girls’ love). It also supports multiple payment methods, including PayPal.
They use the common web novel structure (free initial chapters, coins to unlock more chapters) mentioned above.
- Account access: Email address and password
- Payment Options:
- Apple (iOS): Apple Pay – most expensive option
- Android: WeChat Pay or Alipay – international bank cards are accepted
- Website: PayPal – slightly more expensive than some other methods and requires min purchase of 10,000 coins
- TaoBao top-up: Provide your JJID at checkout
How much do web novels cost on JJWXC?
JJWXC offers free, paid and membership-based web novels.
IMPORTANT: Chapters require half as many coins when unlocked via the app! Always unlocks chapters on the app!!
Some popular free titles include 君有疾否 (Art Thou Ailing?), 红白囍 (Ghost Marriage), and 娑婆 (Return to Sahāloka).
Paid web novels are relatively affordable. Here is approximate pricing of a few popular titles:
| Novel | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 天官赐福 (Heaven Official’s Blessing) | 900,000 characters | 2,692 coins (~$4.03) |
| 将进酒 (Ballad of Sword and Wine) | 1,000,000 characters | 2,823 coins (~$4.23) |
| 死亡万花筒 (Kaleidoscope of Death) | 875,000 characters | 2,406 coins (~$3.60) |
* price above based on PayPal top-up and chapters purchased via the mobile app, ~10% cheaper when topping up with Alipay.
JJWXC also offers many short novels behind a membership paywall that you can unlock with coins. Their membership is around $2 for a month.
My comments
JJWXC is my personal favourite platform for Chinese webnovels. Being a popular platform means lots of authors and web novels — a huge range of options to choose from!
As a learner, you’ll likely take 3 to 6 months to complete a million-character web novel, which is around $4.30, so $10 could easily last a year (if you read some free ones as well)!
Admittedly, the interface on the website and apps is terrible; it’s all over the place and outdated. It takes a lot of time to get used to it and find what you need.
I actually really love that Readibu’s Discover feature is integrated with JJWXC’s search; it’s so much easier to search in Readibu than on JJWXC’s website or app.
2. 长佩文学 (Gongzi/Changpei)
Changpei, also known as Gongzi, is a relatively new, small platform that competes with JJWXC. They have categories for romance, danmei (Chinese boys’ love), and baihe (Chinese girls’ love).
Changpei uses the common web novel structure mentioned above: the first few chapters are free, with a coin system to unlock additional chapters.
- Account access: Phone numbers (international numbers accepted)
- Payment Options:
- Apple (iOS): Apple Pay – most expensive option.
- Android & Website: WeChat Pay or Alipay – international bank cards are accepted
How much do web novels cost on 长佩文学?
Changpei offers free and paid web novels. They also have a small range of paid audiobooks and audiodramas.
Some popular free titles include 督主有病 (There’s Something Wrong with the Chief), 青梅屿 (Green Plum Island) and 我嗑了对家X我的CP (I Ship My Adversary X Me).
Paid web novels are relatively affordable. Here are the approximate prices for a few popular titles:
| Novel | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 人鱼陷落 (The Fallen Merman) | 1,000,000 characters | 2,952 coins (~$4.43) |
| 台风眼 (The Eye of the Storm) | 540,000 characters | 1,459 coins (~$2.16) |
My Comments
In the Chinese web novel platform space, Changpei’s website and app are among the simplest and cleanest I’ve seen so far.
The search and filter options are somewhat limited, and it’s currently not possible to filter by multiple tags simultaneously.
Changpei also offers the option to filter by total length, which I don’t see often. It’s great for looking for shorter novels.
3. 米国度 (Myrics)
Myrics is a Taiwanese-based 18+ web novel platform. A large portion of their content contains a varying amount of graphically explicit sexual scenes.
- Account access: Email address and password
- Payment Options:
- Website: Credit card and PayPal
Many of their popular web novels have received traditional publication via their own publishing house. Most of them are available on Readmoo, Kobo (Taiwan region) and Google Books.
How much do web novels cost on Myrics?
Web novels on Myrics are more expensive than those on some other platforms on this list.
Like all other web novel platforms, they have free and paid content.
Some free web novels I’ve read on Myrics include 異變[哨嚮] (Mutation) and 强行入侵[向哨] (Forced Invasion)
Here are some cost examples of paid novels:
| Novel | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 心魔 | 261,000 characters | 191 coins (~$2.30) |
| 太子 | 337,000 characters | 340 coins (~$4.08) |
My comments
Even though most of their content isn’t for everyone, I have still ranked them number 3 because it’s one of the most accessible sites on this list.
They don’t offer a phone or tablet app. I’ve approached them about this before, and they said that because of the type of content on their platform, they can’t provide an app, as it wouldn’t be approved by the app stores.
The website is well optimised for mobile view and works great if you have a browser pop-up dictionary enabled.
4. 起点中文网 (Qidian)
起点中文网 (Qidian) is one of China’s biggest web novel platforms. It started as an independent platform and was later bought by Tencent. The platform is divided into male-oriented and female-oriented web novels.
The platform is known for long web novels, those with over 2 million characters. Many famous web novels, including 诡秘之主, originated from Qidian
Qidian uses the common web novel structure mentioned above: the first few chapters are free, with a coin system to unlock additional chapters.
- Account access: Phone number and password
- Payment Options:
- Apple (iOS): Apple Pay
- Website: WeChat Pay, Alipay, PayPal
The PayPal option is significantly more expensive, so I recommend using Alipay. Alipay is open to many international users and accepts a variety of cards.
How much do web novels cost on Qidian?
Qidian has both free and paid web novels. For long web novels, the first 80-100 chapters are free.
Here are some cost examples of paid novels:
| Novel | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 诡秘之主 (Lord of Mysteries) | 4,400,000 characters | 19,421 coins (~$30-$40) |
| 修真聊天群 (Cultivation Chat Group) | 8,000,000 characters | 39,561 coins (~$60-$70) |
My comments
Qidian isn’t a platform I use because most of their web novels aren’t my cup of tea, and they’re also available on 微信读书 (WeRead).
From the cost above, they are more expensive than JJWXC and Changpei. In comparison, they’re still more affordable than English books and far cheaper than the official translations that are posted on Webnovel.com.
Note: Webnovel.com is an English web novel platform that is owned by Tencent. Official translations of many Qidian novels can be found there, including 诡秘之主 (Lord of Mysteries).
I have included it here on this list because the platform is easy to access and all the famous long-form web novels can be found here.
5. 微信读书 (WeRead)
微信读书 (WeRead) is a massive web novel, ebook and audiobook platform owned by Tencent. They offer a wide range of fiction and non-fiction across various genres.
Tencent also own multiple web novel platforms including 起点 (Qidian), and many of the web novels are pulled into 微信读书 (WeRead).
They have a small range of danmei (Chinese boys’ love) novels; however, some are edited versions without the romance.
- Account access: WeChat only
- Payment Options:
- Apple (iOS): Apple Pay – most expensive option
- Android: WeChat Pay – international bank cards are accepted
How much do web novels cost on 微信读书?
微信读书 (WeRead) offers a selection of free novels and web novels, which changes frequently. It’s not the best place for free content.
They offer both individual purchases for ebooks and web novels, and a membership that costs around $30 a year, which includes unlimited access to all audiobooks, books, and most web novels — web novels from 起点 (Qidian) are excluded from the membership.
Audiobooks are only available with the membership, and can’t be purchased individually.
My comments
微信读书 (WeRead) is my go-to platform for general books, and it’s so affordable. The membership is better than anything else in English-language literature.
Although it’s a great platform with affordable membership and a huge variety of books, it’s not very high on this list due to access issues and isn’t learner-friendly. You can’t use a pop-up dictionary with its website reader, and there’s no way to download books from the platform.
6. Honourable mentions
Google Books, Kobo (Taiwan region) and Readmoo (a Taiwanese ebook platform) are also good places to look for web novels. While it doesn’t host web novels directly, many Taiwanese web novels that later receive traditional publication are likely available as ebooks on these platforms.
