For instance, Starbucks China has recently teamed up with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio to produce two beverages with peachy flavors featuring the classic Chinese animation The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven, an adaption from the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.

例如，星巴克中国（Starbucks China）最近与上海动画电影制片厂（Shanghai Animation Film Studio）合作，生产了两种桃红色饮料，以中国经典动画《大闹天宫》（the Monkey King：Uproad in Heaven）为特色，该片改编自中国经典故事《西游记》（Journey to the West）。

Produced and released by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio during the 1960s, the animated film The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven has become one of China's best-known "superhero" animations.

上世纪60年代，由上海动画电影制片厂出品并发行的动画电影《大闹天宫》已成为中国最著名的“超级英雄”动画之一。

Sony has continuously increased its investment in China, with its businesses spanning electronics, film and television, music, games and animation, said Takehito Soeda, vice-president of Sony China, adding that he is bullish on the development prospects and huge potential of the Chinese market.

索尼中国区副总裁Soeda Takehito表示，索尼不断增加在中国的投资，其业务涵盖电子、电影电视、音乐、游戏和动画等领域。他补充说，他看好中国市场的发展前景和巨大潜力。

Based on the animated film Zootopia made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, this will be the eighth themed land in Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai Disney Resort said on Tuesday.

上海迪士尼度假区周二表示，根据华特迪士尼动画工作室制作的动画电影《动物城》，这将是上海迪士尼乐园的第八块主题乐园。

The world's first Zootopia-themed land, a park built upon the animated film Zootopia made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is set to open in Shanghai on Dec 20, Shanghai Disney Resort announced on Tuesday.

上海迪士尼度假区周二宣布，世界上第一个以动物城为主题的乐园将于12月20日在上海开放，该乐园是根据华特迪士尼动画工作室制作的动画电影《动物城》建造的。

The model will be fully integrated into all imaging and design products of Meitu, with a wide range of application in fields including e-commerce, advertisement, gaming, animation, film and television, the company said.

该公司表示，该模型将完全集成到美图的所有成像和设计产品中，在电子商务、广告、游戏、动画、电影和电视等领域有着广泛的应用。

Chen Anni, CEO and founder of Kuaikan, said that despite the current difficulties, the Chinese animation industry is still in an early stage and there are many opportunities.

快看CEO兼创始人陈安妮表示，尽管目前困难重重，但中国动漫产业仍处于早期阶段，机遇重重。

Meitu's latest visual large AI model is called MiracleVision, which covers painting, design, film, television, photography, games, 3D and animation.

美图最新的视觉大人工智能模型名为MiracleVision，涵盖绘画、设计、电影、电视、摄影、游戏、3D和动画。

"In addition to art toys, other categories of collectible toys, such as assembled models and animation statues, all have promising market prospects," she said, adding blind boxes have emerged as one of the most popular categories, occupying a big market share in China's domestic market.

她说：“除了艺术玩具，其他类别的收藏品玩具，如组装模型和动画雕像，都有很好的市场前景。”她补充说，盲盒已经成为最受欢迎的类别之一，在中国国内市场占据了很大的市场份额。

Cheng said coordinated efforts among the three units are the latest exemplification of the "Neo-Culture Creativity" strategy Tencent introduced three years ago, which emphasizes synergies across different Tencent vehicles spanning gaming, comics and animation, online literature, films and esports.

Dong Xue, deputy director of the Beijing Animation and Game Industry Alliance, said Chinese companies are not short of capital when exploring foreign markets.

The hotel features 800 rooms and suites, including a few family-friendly themed accommodations inspired by DreamWorks Animation's beloved animated movie series, Kung Fu Panda.

"We are also eyeing to leverage China Literature's domestic experience, which incubates original IPs and adapts them to a range of digital entertainment mediums, such as movies, TV series, animation and games," she said.

In terms of content, the site is diversifying its portfolio from mostly comics and animation to include many other niche areas.

They include a coproduction of New Gods: Nezha Reborn, a story from Chinese legend produced alongside animated film specialist Light Chaser Animation Studios.

"Between 2014 and 2024, we have this 10-year vision for animation at Bilibili－to become a Chinese anime hub that can help drive the industry's development in Asia and grows in terms of both output and audience.

After 2024, we hope Bilibili will support and witness the birth of new Chinese anime superheroes and blockbuster animation hits," she said.

"Bilibili has sought to reposition itself as a platform not only for animation fans, who were the initial users of its service, but also for moviegoers, gaming enthusiasts and merchants amid rising competition," said Charlie Chai, an analyst at consultancy 86Research, which focuses on China's internet, technology and consumer trends.

Led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, the fresh fundraising attracted renowned investors including Family Foundation of chairman of Guangdong Alpha Animation and Culture Cai Dongqing, New Oriental Education and Technology, Doll Capital Management and Sinovation Ventures, and Enlight Growth Partners.

Cheng said the coordinated efforts between the three units are the latest exemplification of the "Neo-Culture Creativity" strategy Tencent launched two years ago, which emphasizes the synergies across different Tencent vehicles spanning gaming, comics and animation, online literature, film and esport.

Cheng said the coordinated efforts between the three units is the latest exemplification of the ' Neo-Culture Creativity' strategy Tencent launched two years ago, which emphasizes the synergies across different Tencent vehicles spanning gaming, comics and animation, online literature, film and e-sport.

At this time, the group is involved in business segments such as movies and television, games, cinemas, animation, literature, media and education.

At present, the group is involved in business segments including movies and television, games, cinemas, animation, literature, media and education.

"The strategic investment and business cooperation further align with our goals to bring best-in-class content offerings and services to our users as we increase our domestic stronghold in animation and mobile games," said Chen Rui, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Bilibili.

"The strategic investment and business cooperation further align our goals to bring best-in-class content offerings and services to our users, as we increase our domestic stronghold in animation and mobile games," said Chen Rui, chairman and chief executive officer of Bilibili.

These include sponsoring domestic and global sports events such as marathons, the Sina Basketball Golden League and the International University Sports Federation, as well as supporting co-branded theme films and animation.

An animation corporation was unveiled Sunday in Beijing with China Media Group (CMG), one of the major media outlets in the country, to boost making of original works and promote Chinese culture.

The newly-established corporation is established on basis of the animation arm of the China Central Television (CCTV), a part of CMG, and combining other related resources of GMG.

They include Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Live Action, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.

Following the Marvel hero series last year, Anta Kids collaborated with Disney's iconic hit animation movie Frozen.

Animation hit Ne Zha bolsters firm's efforts to boost presence in nationIMAX China Holding Inc, a unit of global entertainment chain IMAX, reported on Wednesday its revenue for the first half of this year rose 15.1 percent year-on-year to $59.3 million, driven by strong growth in its theater network business.

The recent hit animation film Ne Zha, which has garnered over 1.2 billion yuan as of Wednesday, is a good example.

According to the company, the new animation hit grossed an estimated 54 million yuan in box office revenue during the opening weekend, a record high among the company's highest-grossing animation movies in China.

This is best exemplified by the decision to build the world's first theme land based on Zootopia, the highest-grossing imported animation film in China, which is bound to "attract both new and recurring guests alike", he said.

Sony plans to expand its entertainment, gaming, music and animation businesses in China.

As for animation, the company will strengthen the copyright business and try to develop local intellectual property or IP in China.

Moreover, the Japanese multinational conglomerate plans to expand its entertainment, gaming, and music and animation businesses in China.

As for the animation business, the company will strengthen copyrights and try to develop local intellectual property or IP in China.

Founded in 2010, Bilibili is a video sharing website themed around animation, comic, and game targeting notably the Generation Z.

The platform is also cooperating with Dream Castle Culture, an intellectual property company that owns the image rights for Ali, a popular online animation character depicting a fox, to jointly develop interesting and creative souvenirs.

The app provides various knowledge products for users including audio, video, live broadcast, games, animation and picture books.

Wanda Kids, the Chinese conglomerate's entertainment division for children, is teaming up with British company Silvergate Mdea to produce two films of a hit animation for pre-school children, the "Octonauts," according to a report from the US entertainment magazine Variety.

The animation series debuted in China in 2014 through the country's state television broadcaster China Central Television, which was restructured into the China Media Group earlier this year.

"The animation became popular after its debut in China, garnering more than 14 billion online views and five million books sold through licensing deals.

Tencent's Interactive Entertainment Group, which, as its name suggests, encompasses gaming, comics and animation, online literature, film and e-sports, has vowed to deepen the consolidation of content through a variety of vehicles under a new strategy called Neo-Culture Creativity.

On the film side, it launched a publishing subsidiary of its Tencent Pictures to focus on the promotion of well-received intellectual property products, whereas business operation of comics and animation will be integrated into gaming titles such as King of Glory, major movie studios and cultural institutions like the Dunhuang Academy.

Kenneth Fee, lecturer in game art and animation at Abertay, said as mobile gaming is gradually becoming a driving force in the whole gaming sector, it will be a key part of the program.

Nice Boat Animation, producer of Dahufa, which won the Best Animation Feature category at the 2017 Golden Horse Awards, expects to see its revenue double this year, said a company executive.

"Wang Ying, former general manager of CCTV Animation, said Chinese cartoons are facing strong challenges in terms of translation and helping foreigners learn about and understand Chinese culture.

That Chinese-owned IP made it to a country with a long history of animation speaks volumes about the progress we have made so far," said Wang Biao, founder of Block 12.

Literature, animation, music and video games have emerged as powerful sources of inspiration for films in China and around the world.

Animation and toy maker Alpha Group increases pace of expansion abroadAlpha Group Co Ltd, a major toy, animation and entertainment content company, is expanding cooperation with foreign companies, which will further increase its global footprint, according to a senior company executive.

In addition to the business of intellectual property, or IP licensing, Alpha earned profit mainly from sales of comics, animation products and toys in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia last year, Wang said.

The animation group listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009 and has signed contracts with more than 200 licensing companies so far this year, a rise of 50 percent compared to 2016.

Spurred on by this success story, Alpha plans to release a new IP animation, Katuri, about an heroic hen.

The five-day, intensive Disney-China Animation Exchange Program, supported by China Film Bureau, was tailored to suit the needs of an elite cadre of Chinese animation filmmakers.

Celebrating its third year, the program, which concluded Wednesday, was a high-level exchange of ideas and practices between filmmakers of Walt Disney Animation Studios and the leading animation filmmakers from China.

"Walt Disney Animation Studios is deeply honored to open our doors and share our learnings and best practices with China's local creative industry.

These exchanges have been inspiring to all of us involved," said Andrew Millstein, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

"The exchange program was the brainchild of John Lasseter,chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and the creative force behind Disney's global winning streak.

During a publicity tour through China for "Big Hero 6," Lasseter was repeatedly asked whether Disney would open a facility in China to help take Chinese animation to the next level.

An indication of the level of respect Disney accorded this unique Chinese exchange program is that the seminar speakers included such top-ranking creative and executive powerhouses as John Lasseter, Pixar co-founder and president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Ed Catmull, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Andrew Millstein, head of Production, Ann Le Cam, and Academy Award-winning producer, Roy Conli, as well as other top producers, writers and directors.

This exchange helps us strengthen relationships and share in a way that elevates the animation industry as a whole.

It makes us ponder the gap between Chinese animation studios and Disney, the world's leading animation studio.

"Linlin Shang, general manager of Fantawild Animation Inc, responded, "We should learn from Disney how to tell a story.

"Bo Chen, vice president of Shanghai Animation Film Studio, told Xinhua that he gained greatly from this program, especially Disney's ideas on how to make excellent movies and their spirit of innovation.

I'm sure the cooperation between Sino-US animation filmmakers will contribute to closer bonds between Chinese and American people," he said.

Zootopia, in particular, is cited as an example of China embracing Hollywood after it became Disney's most successful animation ever in the world's second largest box office, scooping $236 million.

Local toy maker Guangdong Alpha Animation & Culture took the biggest share－4.4 percent－in 2015 while Mattel only took the fourth-biggest share of 2 percent.

PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILYAlpha Group Co Ltd, one of the country's top animation and toy producers, said it was bullish it would maintain its rapid business growth internationally by exploiting the value of the intellectual rights and properties it owns.

The preschool animation series also won a nomination at the fifth International Emmy Kids Awards presented last month, which was the first time a Chinese animation series got shortlisted.

Alpha, for example, worked with partners in more than 20 economies related to the initiative in terms of animation broadcasting, toys sales and IP licensing.

The Ministry of Culture has drawn up a five-year plan (2016-20) for cultural development along the Belt and Road, which highlights the task of helping animation and game companies in China expand to economies related to the initiative and promote Chinese culture.

Pony Ma Huateng, chairman and CEO of Tencent, suggested that Chinese animation and game producers use more "imagination and entertaining elements" to enhance the global influence of their original content.

"Many Chinese animation and game producers still target the youth segment, while animations and games are popular across all ages overseas," said Ma.

He had called on roducers to fully tap the potential of time-honored characters in Chinese culture to become modern international hits, like Disney's Mulan and DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda.

It presented an AI-generated content (AIGC) series of innovative products such as "AI painting", "AI stick figures," and "AI animation" in the exhibition.

Wu Xinhong, founder and CEO of Meitu Company, said that the company is continuously making efforts to improve its industrial service capability through the "AIGC +" mode, and will provide creative and efficient tools for practitioners engaging in animation design, game production, and shoes and clothing design.

Following the fifth National Forest Firefighting and Emergency Rescue Equipment Exhibition, the first event following the Spring Festival holiday, more than 50 exhibitions covering the industries of manufacturing, automobiles, furniture, medical treatment, industrial design, food and animation will be held in the city within two months.

During the event, professionals from both Japan and China in various sectors including film and television, music, fashion, animation, online games, and tourism shared experiences regarding Guangzhou, China as well as friendly exchanges between China and Japan.

When cosmetics group L'Oreal introduced its first-ever virtual host for its MG beauty masks during the third China International Import Expo, few could find a strong relation between the animation figure and themselves.

"Shenzhen's strength in cultural and technological innovation is very attractive," said Chan, who is involved in the design and creation of cartoon and animation characters.

Beijing is now China's biggest exporter of animation, comics and games — dubbed ACG — as the digital business has grown rapidly in recent years.

A joint report from the city's culture and tourism bureau and the Beijing Animation and Game Industry Alliance said the output value of exported products from Beijing's ACG companies in 2020 reached 45.93 billion yuan ($7 billion), a 30 percent increase over the previous year.

Creative Capital, another business incubator and accelerator in Wuhan's Hongshan district, breeds diversified creative culture startups and has formed an industrial cluster that combines art workshop, museum, animation base, tech SMEs, e-sports and online game companies.

China unveiled the inaugural Golden Panda Awards last year, which honor global film, TV, documentary, and animation achievements, demonstrating efforts to expand cinematic exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Disney Resort will open the world's first Zootopia-themed land on Dec 20, building on the success of the 2016 movie, which is ranked as the top foreign animation film based on ticket sales on the Chinese mainland.

Beijing — With its considerable economic gains and huge market prospects after years of growth, China's animation industry is expected to become a hot investment destination, industry insiders said.

Its total output value is expected to exceed 300 billion yuan ($41.8 billion) in 2023, said Ma Li, president of the China Animation Association, on the sidelines of the Financial Street Forum 2023 in Beijing earlier this month.

"Animation has deeply engaged human life in the digital age and is closely intertwined with social development, generating huge industrial value," Ma said.

Adapted from well-known folk legends and deeply rooted in Chinese culture, these animation movies have established a unique storytelling style, helping them gain a substantial foothold in a global animation market once firmly dominated by the United States and Japan.

Data showed that the total output value of China's animation industry had skyrocketed, rising from 88.2 billion yuan in 2013 to 221.2 billion yuan in 2020, revealing strong growth momentum.

Eyeing China's high-quality animation products and huge market potential, an increasing number of global investors and market players are betting on the sector.

The original children's animation, presented by iQIYI in cooperation with Nickelodeon, was first aired on Nickelodeon International in August 2020 and was received well around the world.

China's cultural industry development plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period noted that the country aims to continue to improve the quality of its animation industry, build brands and promote the development of the whole industrial chain.

Xicheng district in Beijing is investing a whopping 50 million yuan in special funds each year to support industries related to the animation sector.

Dai Wei, vice-president of Bank of Beijing, told the forum that the lender will enhance its support for the country's established animation industry, vowing to offer comprehensive financial services covering entire industrial chains in the animation sector.

The bank will create new financial products to boost industries related to animation, and roll out loan support to aid animation enterprises, Dai said.

- Multiple institutions from China and Arab countries have jointly inaugurated an animation industry alliance at an ongoing forum held in the city of Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

The Sino-Arab animation industry forum opened on Wednesday.