China has given the go-ahead to the first batch of cartoon adaptations of classic Chinese mythologies and historical novels for 2006.

On the list of the 220 approved cartoons, totaling 193,867 minutes, are classic mythologies and historical novels such as the Creation of Gods, the Pilgrimage to the West and Three Kingdoms, all of which take place in ancient China.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said in the approval that the cartoons must not fabricate or distort the original work and must not advocate superstition.

Approximate 25 cartoons did not get approval because of their subject matter or repetition of the same subject, according to SARFT.

China turned out more than 42,000 minutes of cartoons in 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2006)