CMG showcases animation legacy, future at China's cartoon, animation festival

The China Media Group (CMG) -- the nation's flagship broadcaster -- brought a spectacular showcase blending beloved classics and cutting-edge innovations to the 21st China International Cartoon and Animation Festival held between May 29 and June 2 in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province.

The media giant's pavilion dazzled visitors with nostalgic hits and previews of ambitious new projects, demonstrating the CMG's continued leadership in China's animation industry.

The vibrant exhibition wowed the audience with the CMG's animation legacy while highlighting its technological advancements. From the instantly recognizable red decor inspired by "Nezha Legend" to real-time AI animation demonstrations, the CMG presented a comprehensive vision of where Chinese animation has been and where it's heading.

The showcase particularly emphasized the CMG's unique ability to reinvent cultural classics for new generations while pioneering digital innovation in the animation field.

A special "AI+Animation" experience zone demonstrated the transformative power of technology in modern animation production. Visitors were able to witness complete AIGC workflows and interacted with an AI-powered version of the CMG's panda mascot "Hehe" that could generate personalized videos in real-time.

"We've brought our flagship production this year - a 104-episode adaptation of 'Journey to the West,' marking our first complete animated interpretation of China's Four Great Classical Novels," said Feng Huan, operations director of the CMG Animation Group, at the event.

"Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of 'Big Head Son and Little Head Father,' we've recreated the birthday celebration at our exhibition. This beloved series has accompanied three generations of families through countless joyful parent-child moments, and we want to share that happiness with all our visitors today," Feng said.

The debut of the CMG's "Pai De Man" studio added another dimension, featuring miniature replicas of broadcasting equipment and popular Spring Festival Gala animated characters.

From the enduring appeal of 2003's "Nezha Legend" to experimental AI applications, the festival highlighted how China's animation industry is bridging its rich heritage with technological innovation, creating new possibilities for storytelling and cultural exchange in the digital age.

The CICAF, now in its 21st year, has become one of the country's largest and most influential animation showcases, attracting over 18 million visitors and 21,000 companies from around the world to date.

CMG showcases animation legacy, future at China's cartoon, animation festival

Chinese stock markets have wrapped up a buoyant first week of 2026, with the Shanghai Composite up close to 3 percent since Monday, hitting a decade high, according to China Global Television Network's financial market analyst Timothy Pope on Friday.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.92 percent to 4,120.43 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.15 percent higher at 14,120.15 points.

"The markets have wrapped up a very buoyant first week of the year, with the Shanghai Composite up close to 3 percent since Monday, and 0.9 percent today alone, taking it to a fresh decade high. I feel like I've already used those words a lot this week. The Shenzhen Component added almost 1.2 percent today, also had a very good day. Today the market got some welcome news in the latest inflation data, showing consumer prices rose to a three year high in December. The CPI was up 0.8 percent with particularly big jumps in the price of foods, so fresh vegetables and beef in particular, that's according to the National Bureau of Statistics, but both signs of easing consumer deflationary pressure, was definitely welcomed by the market, as was signs in the producer price index, that was responding to the governments campaign against involution, is starting ease pressures there," said the analyst.

"But it has been pointed out by market analysts that investors are still favoring non-consumer facing sectors when it comes to equities at the moment, so some of that is coincidental, some of it's not. Investors are still chasing metals stocks, in particular, gold miners still riding high on Friday despite a drop in the price of spot gold. But in China we have actually seen the gold bullion trading at a huge premium this week, more than 20 dollars above the global spot price this week, with interest in bullion only growing in the new year. And that's been reflected in equities. But most sectors trading higher today, we saw the big exception being financial stocks, so there was some profit taking on the big banks and insurers after some gains earlier in the week," he said.

China stock markets wrap up buoyant first week of 2026: CGTN market analyst