The 20th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival kicked off on Wednesday at the White Horse Lake Creative Eco-City International Convention and Exhibition Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, offering a five-day extravaganza celebrating Chinese animation.

This year's festival, spread across multiple venues including the White Horse Lake International Exhibition Center, China Cartoon and Animation Museum, and various districts in Hangzhou, features events aimed at promoting and showcasing the best of Chinese animation.

Over 2,100 enterprises and organizations from 50 countries and regions are participating in the festival, with prominent names such as CCTV Animation, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and Zoland representing China, alongside international entities like MegaHouse and Hello Kitty.

The main exhibition area, spanning six floors, is a hub for animation enthusiasts, offering a diverse range of popular domestic and international IP displays, live performances, interactive experiences, and merchandise sales. A key highlight this year is the introduction of a digital entertainment zone, which quickly became a bustling hot spot on the opening day.

Visitors can immerse themselves in cutting-edge animation experiences driven by AI and digital technologies. The holographic cabin animation photo studio allows guests to interact with animated avatars that mirror their movements, while the AI Image Recognition and Cloud Computing Art Studio showcases a robotic arm creating sketches based on uploaded photos in minutes, offering a glimpse into the future of technology in animation and gaming.

Since its inception in 2005, the festival has been a staple event for animation enthusiasts and has played a pivotal role in the growth of Hangzhou's animation industry. The city's animation and gaming sector, surpassing 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) in revenue by the end of 2023, now boasts 274 companies employing over 12,000 individuals, marking a remarkable transformation from obscurity to excellence in the industry.