"Most illustrators are not familiar with the form and method, and they get little support from a publisher that they can work with for long. So generally, while things have started for adult picture books, the challenges remain big," Liu says.

To help, SDX invited lecturers like Xiong Liang, whose works are acclaimed in the international market, to start workshops for the creators.

Liu thinks highly of the adult picture books, although the publishers still struggle with doubts about how much profit the books can bring in.

"They have great potential - sometimes they're already a half-done blueprint for a wonderful movie, like Taiwan creator Ji Mi's works," Liu says.

Fairy is the first original picture book written and illustrated by Fan. A Tsinghua University graduate, Fan has been illustrating for books by others and is recognized for her warm and vivid style.

Fan, 33, says the book was based on a story she wrote as gift for a child.

She got the inspiration from a winged insect struggling at the bottom of a bowl one day. That autumn, Fan's father was seriously ill and it caused her to ponder questions beyond their everyday context.

She pitched the idea to Liu and other editors. Moved, Liu thought the story still needed polishing to be well accepted by adult readers.

They worked for two years to mellow the plot.

"A visit to Tibet changed my ideas on some of the points the editors and I had disagreed on," Fan says.

"And I got to think again about the meaning of freedom. Thus, my drawings are haunted with images of wings."

The seven-scene book tells about a fairy, born in a bowl, and his adventure in the world.

"It's basically a story about cherishing what you have.

But painstaking effort is required before one comes to that realization," senior picture book creator Xiong says.

meijia@chinadaily.com.cn