As part of the annual China International Cartoon and Animation Festival, cartoon characters and cosplayers are taking over the city of Hangzhou. Despite the event's continued growth, one expert says China's cartoon industry is still trying to shake off influences from Japan and the United States.

A procession of cosplayers, dancers and floats parade through downtown Hangzhou.

Companies from China, Japan, South Korea, the US, and other countries attend exhibits, forums and business fairs.

Now in its 14th year, the festival was originally a party for anime fans to meet their favourite characters in real life.

But it's now grown into a wide-ranging industry event.

CHEN JING VISITOR "Six years ago, most visitors to the cartoon exhibition were anime fans. They came to meet and talk with friends and have fun. But now, visitors include older people and children. The exhibition has turned into a half-commercial platform."

China is keen to develop its cartoon and animation industry.

Professor Pan Jian from Zhejiang University's School of Humanities has watched China's animation market for over a decade.

He says the industry is still in the process of shaking off the impact from Japan and the United States.

PAN JIAN, PROFESSOR ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES "Chinese animations are decreasing in number, but becoming better. I think the Chinese cartoon and animation industry is in a transformation period. It has not finished yet, because an important feature of a successful transformation would be animations that are of reliably good quality, and a Chinese style rather than copying from Japanese or US works."

Anime fans have the chance to buy action figures that aren't normally available in stores.

Action figures from Japanese manga series "Naruto" and Marvel's "Avengers" are proving popular.

Pan says merchandise is a big part of the cartoon industry, but China still has a long way to go in this field.

PAN JIAN, PROFESSOR ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES "China is weak in developing merchandise because the companies simply put cartoon images into products. It's certainly difficult to succeed. They are not aware of the importance of creative design."

Meeting cartoon artists is also part of the event. One of the most famous is Zhu Deyong from Taiwan. He's here signing copies of the third installment of "Absolute Children", a book inspired by his son. SW CGTN