The 13th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival (CICAF) kicked off on Wednesday at Baima (White Horse) Lake Comic and Animation Square in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, and will be held until May 1.   

One main venue and 16 sub-venues were set up for the fair, welcoming exhibitors from 82 countries and regions including the US, Germany, Japan and Singapore. Participating domestic and global enterprises include Disney, Oriental DreamWorks, Children's BBC (CBBC), Alibaba, Tencent, Google and Facebook.

This is also the 30th year of renowned cartoonist Zhu Deyong’s career, and his 10th year living in Hangzhou. Born in Taiwan, he gained fame for his needle-sharp observations about human nature in comic books Absolutely Kids, City Ladies and Everyone is Ill. 

To celebrate this special occasion, he launched an exhibition named “Humorous City Hangzhou” at the fair. The display featured numerous sketches and artworks he composed during his life. In addition, an Absolutely Kids opera will be staged in the exhibition hall. 

Zhu said at the ceremony that his path to becoming a cartoonist began with a simple fondness for drawing, and that he didn’t care about “success or failure."

“I am honored to be able to host my 30th anniversary exhibition in Hangzhou. We tried to reproduce the small room that I began composing cartoon in, in 1987. Although the room no longer exists in Taipei, it will always be in my heart," Zhu added. 

The most significant brand-building contributor to the festival -- "Golden Monkey King” Award -- will be announced soon. Its predecessor "Monkey Award" was founded in 1988, and was upgraded to "Golden Monkey King” Award in 2011. It is the highest honor for Chinese cartoons and animations. 

A total of 1,070 domestic and foreign entries were registered at the contest, of which 88 were successfully shortlisted, including Song of the Ocean, Monkey King: Hero is Back, and Big Fish & Begonia. 

Two animated short films from the Czech Republic, The Little Cousteau and Mysterious, were also nominated as finalists for the “Golden Monkey King” Award. 

Moreover, the eye-catching and exciting Cosplay Super Festival final round will be held from April 27 to 30 at the event. It is extremely internationalized with contestants from nine countries, including the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Hungary, the US, Switzerland, France, Singapore and Denmark.