Who knew Harry Potter was actually Chinese? Yet there was the boy wizard in glasses, black cape and brown moptop, merrily barking out Mandarin to the enthusiastic masses and introducing his latest fantastic tale to the planet's largest market of young readers.

　　"Harry Potter and thesgroupsof the Phoenix," the series' fifth installment, made its Chinese-character debut yesterday, arriving to great fanfare 10 days early because of big demand, its publishers insisted - but also, they acknowledged, to beat slapdash counterfeit versions to the market.

　　"We want to protect our trademark. We want the best out first," said Liu Yushan, president of the People's Literature Publishing House, the Chinese firm that has brought out all the official versions of "Ha-li Bo-te" tales in China. The first four sold millions.

　　The publisher shipped 800,000 copies of the latest volume across China in recent days, rushing to prepare for yesterday's synchronized release, which was scheduled for the hours after the Beijing ceremony. Officials expect a sellout within a week.

　　As usual for China, though, preventing fakes will be a struggle.

　　The fantasy series by J.K. Rowling is wildly popular in China - an entire fake novel was written and published illegally last year. Two weeks ago, in the western city of Urumqi, fake copies of "Order of the Phoenix" were already on sale.

　　None of that mattered yesterday for the throngs of children and accompanying compliant parents who lined up by the hundreds beginning at 5 am at Beijing's Xidan Shopping Street outside the Xinhua Bookstore.

　　Copies of the blue-bound Harry Potter book, which cost 59 yuan (US.20) were pre-bagged and ready for quick checkout at cash registers set out in the morning sun. A vast balloon shaped like an old Chinese lantern floated above the Avenue of Eternal Peace at one of Beijing's busiest intersections. "Harry Potter is here," it said. "Are you?"

　　"You pick up a Harry Potter book, you just can't stop reading," said Fan Jiaming, 10, waiting behind more than 400 people for his copy. He said, though, that he hadn't read "Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-To-Dragon," the Chinese whole-cloth fake from last summer.

　　Said his father, Fan Bingzhen: "Today, he won't eat. He won't drink. He'll just go home and read it."

　　This hunger for reading, parents waiting in line said, is good news for a society where videogames, Chinese MTV and readily available Hollywood movies on DVD are vying for the attention of an increasingly savvy generation of young Chinese consumers.

　　Pang Guanghua stood in line for several hours to buy a copy for her daughter, Shang Si, 12, who had to study and couldn't come. "She's read all of them. I don't quite understand why," Pang said. "But she loves them."

　　Added Zhao Nan, 14: "The story's exciting no matter where you come from."

　　Worldwide, the Harry Potter books have sold more than 200 million copies in 50 languages. The English-language edition of "Order of the Phoenix" went on sale in Beijing on June 21 as part of its global launch. In July, fans began posting rough, often confusing translations on Internet sites.

　　Liu, the publishing chief, considers that sentiment - if not the action it produces - understandable.

　　"Since China has opened up, interactions with the West have grown. These kids want to be part of the common culture," he said, his voice drowned out by a particularly loud rendition of The Eagles' hit "Seven Bridges Road."