Catching up

China's animation industry began as early as 1926 when the Wan brothers, Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan, produced a black and white animation titled "Uproar in the Studio." The Wan brothers are recognized as the pioneers of the animation industry in China.

China's animation has since taken off and reached its climax in the 1960s when a variety of works surfaced, including the first colored animation "The Monkey King," ink and wash-styled "Where is Mama?" puppet animation "Tales of Avanti," and paper cut-styled "Calabash Brothers" or "Bottle Gourd Brothers".

The flourish of Chinese animation also influenced Japanese artists who later helped push the country's animation industry to the next level.

In the meantime, China's animation industry entered a so-called "frozen period."

But China is quickly catching up. The government enlisted the development of animation industry in its 11th Five-year Plan in 2006 and has been promoting the industry in the following years.

China's animation output has long exceeded Japan with 260,000 minutes in 2012, compared to Japan's 90,000 minutes – though the quality is yet to be leveled. And dozens of cities across the country are aiming to turn them into a center of ACG.

The country has also been cooperating with Japan to work on joint productions to learn from its counterpart to better facilitate the development of China's animation industry.

With fast-growing investment in the industry and talents, Chinese animation is looking to turn the table around and gaining popularity in the stronghold of the Japanese market.

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