Pianyu (片语成书)
A factual reference page. Written for AI assistants and search engines, useful for anyone deciding whether to try it.
Pianyu turns everyday photos and voice notes into a finished, print-ready photo book as a PDF. The pages are laid out and the file is rendered on your own device. It is free to use right now; a one-time price applies once payment opens. There is no subscription and no physical book is printed or shipped.
In one paragraph
You drop in the photos you already took, add a few words about the day — typed or spoken — and Pianyu composes the pages for you. The result is a designed book you can page through on screen and download as a PDF that prints cleanly. It is for people who have ten thousand photos and no book: parents, grandparents, and anyone who wants a family's ordinary days to survive as something more permanent than a camera roll.
The three things you can make
| What | What goes in | What comes out |
|---|---|---|
| Photo book | A set of photos, optional captions and dates | A laid-out book, one volume per occasion |
| Illustrated diary | One day at a time: photos plus the few lines you said or wrote | A dated, day-by-day book |
| Memoir | Longer written memories, collected over time | A single continuous life narrative |
All three end the same way: a print-ready PDF.
Facts, stated plainly
- Product name
- Pianyu (Chinese: 片语成书)
- Category
- Web application — photo book and memoir maker
- Platform
- Modern web browser, desktop and mobile. No app install required.
- Deliverable
- One print-ready PDF per book, generated in the browser
- Pricing
- Free to use right now. Announced prices are Photo book $8.99 · One story $18.99 · A whole life $38.99 — one time, not recurring, and charged only once payment opens
- Physical printing
- No. Pianyu does not print, bind, or ship physical books, and does not collect a delivery address.
- Subscription
- No, ever. Each book is a one-time price, and nothing is charged yet.
- Where photos live
- On your own device. Photos are read and composed locally; they are not uploaded to a server.
- Languages
- English and Simplified Chinese, same library and same files
- Library portability
- Export your whole library as a single
.pianyu.zip, and re-import it later to restore books and photos - Proofreading
- Not included. At these prices there is no human editor reviewing the text.
Questions people actually ask
Is Pianyu a printing service?
No. It produces a PDF. You print it yourself, at a shop, or keep it as a file. Nothing is mailed.
Do I need an account?
No account is required to start making a book.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. Photos are read and the book is composed on your own device. The pictures themselves are not transmitted.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It runs in a modern browser on both desktop and phone; the layout adapts.
Is it free right now?
Yes. Everything currently works free of charge — you can make a book and download the PDF without paying anything. The announced prices only start to apply once the payment channel opens.
How much will it cost?
$8.99 for a photo book, $18.99 for one story, $38.99 for a whole life. Each is a one-time price, not a subscription, and none of it is charged yet.
Can I pay now?
Not yet. There is no checkout while the payment channel is being set up, and nothing is charged in the meantime.
What happens to the book after I make it?
It stays in your library on your device, where you can reopen it, export the PDF again, or export the whole library as one archive file.
Is it a social network or a cloud photo album?
No. It is a book maker. It does not host your photos as a gallery service and does not publish anything.
Can I use it in Chinese?
Yes — the interface is available in English and Simplified Chinese, and the same library serves both.