AS big bookstores mushroom in neighboring Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Hong Kong feels an ever-greater pinch in its publishing sector. Publishing has become more expensive in Hong Kong over the past years, owing to hikes in land and labor costs. A book priced at the equivalent of HK $20 on the mainland is currently tagged at HK $70 in the special administrative region. Unsurprisingly, this huge disparity has enticed Hong Kong readers, and also bookstores, away from the SAR to the adjacent mainland cities for their book purchases. “In the past our only rival was Taiwan,” muses Sun Lichuan, deputy editor-in-chief of Cosmos Books. “The mainland posed no threat because its books were inferior in print and design quality. Also, few Hong Kong natives could read the simplified Chinese characters that have been the norm on the mainland since the mid-1950s. But since Hong Kong rejoined Chinese territory, it has closer ties with the mainland. More HK locals have learned to read, and even write, simplified characters. Publishing houses on the mainland have also progressed from small workshops to modern conglomerates. They now produce books that are attractive in appearance as well as substance.” AS big bookstores mushroom in neighboring Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Hong Kong feels an ever-greater pinch in its publishing sector. Publishing has become more expensive in Hong Kong over the past years, owing to hikes in land and labor costs. A book priced at the equivalent of HK $ 20 on the mainland is currently tagged at HK $ 70 in the special administrative region. Unsurprisingly, this huge disparity has enticed Hong Kong readers, and also bookstores, away from the SAR to the adjacent mainland cities for their book purchases. “ In the past our only rival was Taiwan, ”muses Sun Lichuan, deputy editor-in-chief of Cosmos Books. “ The mainland posed no threat as its books were inferior in print and design quality. read the simplified Chinese characters that have been the norm on the mainland began the mid-1950s. But since Hong Kong rejoined Chinese territory, it has closer ties with the mainland. More HK locals have learned to read, and even write, s They are producing books that are attractive in appearance as well as substance. ”