Fantasy into Reality: Website opens door to new world of Chinese culture

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03:27

Immortal heroes and martial arts warriors spring from the pages. The realm of Chinese fantasy novels is a world many outside China don't know much about. But now, this genre is making waves overseas. Driving the popularity -- one young man in Washington. CGTN's Frances Kuo tells us how he uses his words as a window to Chinese culture.

At first glance, Richard Kong looks like a typical college student, but he's anything but typical. Kong is opening a door into a world more and more people want to be part of.

"I'll probably maybe extend it or add a couple of novels down here."

It all started two years ago when he stumbled upon a Chinese website featuring fantasy novels. They're the same ones he read as a kid when he was in China.

RICHARD KONG 'GRAVITY TALES' FOUNDER "I found a passion in reading these novels when I was about eight years old."

So, he thought, why not share this passion with non-Chinese? By translating them into English and offering them online for free. It's a genre that's different than, say, western-style fantasy novels like Harry Potter.

RICHARD KONG 'GRAVITY TALES' FOUNDER "The struggles of the main characters are something that everyone can relate to and see themselves within these main characters."

He sees the Chinese version, often depicted on film, as more focused on individualism with characters making sacrifices for the greater good.

But translating the essence of these stories into English is a whole nother story. The original books in Mandarin can be long. For example, translating a book with a thousand chapters can take two years.

RICHARD KONG 'GRAVITY TALES' FOUNDER "I don't think it's a tedious task at all."

But for Kong and his team of translators, the work has great rewards.

RICHARD KONG 'GRAVITY TALES' FOUNDER "There's obviously a lot that we don't understand about the Chinese, and the Chinese don't understand about us, and hopefully, with our translations, we can get talks started and increase understanding between both cultures."

Stephan Loh has seen that first-hand. He began reading the translated novels last year. And was immediately hooked.

STEPHAN LOH FAN "Part of my excitement of the day is waiting for these chapters to come out. I just spent all of my class time reading instead of focusing on the teacher, which is probably not a good idea."

His non-Chinese friends quickly took notice.

STEPHAN LOH FAN "They ask us about it. I can explain it to them, and we've gone into these great conversations about American vs. Chinese cultures."

For Wang Zizheng, his childhood wonder for these novels has rekindled in his adult years.

WANG ZIZHENG FAN "I would hide under my quilt, reading novels, using phones. I was little, I was afraid my parents would know I was reading novels, staying up late."

That excitement is spreading. Kong says the site, gravity tales, gets two and a half million daily views from readers all over the world, one third from the US. He hopes to expand into e-books and hardcover and get more financial support from China.

RICHARD KONG 'GRAVITY TALES' FOUNDER "This is a fresh new take on a lot of fantasy elements that people would have never thought or imagined."

Not bad for a college student, turning fantasy into a new reality. Frances Kuo, CGTN, Washington.