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4 Entertaining Websites to Read Chinese Manhua Online
Love reading comic books? Love studying Chinese?
There’s a way to combine your two passions: Read Chinese manhua online!
Chinese 漫画 (màn huà) — manhua are Mandarin-language comic books that are heavily popular in Chinese-speaking countries.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find manhua on shelves of your local bookstore in Western countries.
But don’t worry! There are plenty of seriously handy online manhua resources for downloading and reading as much manhua as your heart desires.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What Is Chinese Manhua and How Can It Help Me Learn Mandarin?
Chinese manhua are Mandarin-language comic books similar to Japanese 漫画 (まんが) — manga. These comics are popular throughout China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Most manhua are written in simplified Chinese. Manhua from China is read from left to right, similar to American comic books, while manhua from Taiwan or Hong Kong are typically read from right to left like manga.
Manhua is usually categorized by genre: Satirical and Political, Comical, Action and Children’s Manhua. Needless to say, it’s easy to find a manhua that’ll entertain you as well as teach you Chinese.
Like playing a Chinese video game or watching a Mandarin-language movie, reading manhua can help Chinese learners improve their fluency in a fun way. When you want time to sit back and relax, find a manhua from one of these resources and improve your Mandarin while chilling out.
Reading manhua can improve your Chinese reading skills, much like a regular Chinese-language book would. Reading regular Chinese books is a fun way to brush up on your 汉字 (hàn zì) — Chinese character reading skills. Reading manhua is helpful in the same way, but with the added bonus of some beautiful artwork.
Learn Mandarin by the (Comic) Book: 4 Places to Read Chinese Manhua Online
Weibo’s Manhua Channel
Weibo is one of China’s biggest microblogging social media sites. In addition to offering a blogging and social platform, Weibo also has an online manhua section that’s 100% free.
To read manhua on Weibo, simply search through the main manhua homepage for a title or cover that interests you. After clicking a title, select the first page of the book to be taken to the in-browser reader.
A vast majority of manhua available on Weibo is in hanzi only, so advanced learners, this resource is great for you!
We suggest:
- “渡灵” (Dù Líng) — “Guarding.” A fantasy novel about love, life and being a demi-god.
- “夏天只是一天” (Xià Tiān Zhǐ Shì Yī Tiān) — “Summer is Just a Day.” A comedy manhua about a surgeon with no sense of humor who falls for a comedian.
YesAsia
YesAsia is a super popular site for everything Japanese, Korean and Chinese. We’re talking movies, TV shows, video games, collectibles, toys, foreign goods and more.
One awesome part of YesAsia is their manhua section. These are all physical manhua that you can purchase through the site and have shipped to you directly from China and Taiwan. There are a ton of manga and Western comics translated into Chinese available for purchase, as well.
Once again, most of the manhua at YesAsia are entirely in hanzi. If you enjoy variety, this is the site to check out—there are dozens of genres to search through.
We suggest:
- “一些爱的故事” (Yī Xiē Ài De Gù Shì) — “A Love Story.” A tongue-in-cheek comedic manhua about the friendship between a mischievous child and a self-absorbed man.
- “皮蛋小子” (Pí Dàn Xiǎo Zi) — “Pidan Kid.” A person in love with their friend tries to grapple boundaries in this romance manhua.
Book Walker
Book Walker is a publishing company that provides webcomics, scans and physical copies of their own manhua. Most of the content on their site costs money, but it’s certainly worth it.
If you’re interested, Book Walker also features regular literature in addition to manhua. Plus, you can rent a bunch of their manhua for a lower price instead of purchasing manhua to keep.
We suggest:
- “魔法咪路咪路” (Mó Fǎ Mī Lù Mī Lù) — “Magic Mi Lu Mi Road.” A cute love comedy designed for children. The hanzi is simple, so beginners, look at this one!
- “同居不安定” (Tóng Jū Bù Ān Dìng) — “Unstable Cohabitation.” A Chinese translation of a Japanese office romance comedy.
Amazon
When all else fails, try Amazon!
There’s a ton of manhua available for purchase on Amazon, as well as a lot of Chinese-language versions of manga.
We know almost every resource we’ve covered are hanzi-only, which kinds of sucks for beginner learners out there! Luckily, with a lit bit of searching, there’s actually quite a bit of pinyin manhua available on Amazon.
We suggest:
- “No-brain and Unhappiness.” Two unique characters try to deal with their poor tempers and cluelessness.
- “Fantastic Journey of San Mao.” A beautiful, vintage manhua about one of the world’s longest-running cartoon characters from China.
Talk about the ultimate manhua library!
With so many genres and art styles out there, we can bet you’ll find a new manhua series to binge-read.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
