A still from the animation Fights Break Sphere [Photo/Mtime]

Chinese animation on a massive rise

The year 2017 witnessed Chinese animation industry on a trajectory of explosive growth in terms of both market performance and capacity, with the industry worth up to 150 billion yuan ($23.63 billion).

Among a great number of quality animated films and series produced in 2017, several phenomenons like Fights Break Sphere and The King's Avatar were the highlights of last year's Chinese animation industry.

"The domestic animation industry has stepped up its efforts to shift from quantity-oriented growth to quality-oriented growth. Some 244 animated cartoons, a total of 83.6 thousand minutes, were produced throughout 2017," noted Gao Changli, director of the publicity department of the State Administration of Radio and Television at the festival.

China's population of nijigen (people who are fans of anime, cartoons and games from Japan) has exceeded 300 million, according to a report published in September 2017 by Entgroup Inc, an entertainment industry tracker.

"As pay-to-watch is gaining more popularity and China's animation industry chain is being perfected, the nijigen group's consumption potential will be further unlocked. Therefore, the value of IPs (intellectual properties) is experiencing a dramatic increase," noted Wei Wei, manager of Tencent Animation & Comics.

In the meanwhile, v.qq.com launched dozens of heavyweight IPs on its Super IP Day at the festival. These IPs, featuring domestic animated cartoons for both youth and children, use brand-new approaches to present traditional Chinese culture so as to better engage the younger demographic.