Animation festival draws young people

A visitor (left) takes selfie with a cosplayer at the 2023 Ningbo City Animation Festival, which kicks off in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Nov 11. [Photo/Ningbo Daily]

The 2023 Ningbo City Animation Festival, which was held from Nov 11 to 12 in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, emerged as a magnet force to young people.  

The two-day event featuring elements of animation, traditional Chinese culture and esports made the city's Tianyi Square buzzing with anime lovers. Nearly 20,000 visitors, most of whom are young people, and around 100 animation companies attended various activities such as anime dance competition, exhibition, and games.

Anime merchandise was a highlight of the anime exhibition.

"All of our staff have come to the exhibition but we are still short-handed," said manager of the ACG House, a new anime store in Ningbo.

Most of the visitors were from Ningbo and the surrounding cities, including Hangzhou and Shaoxing while others came from cities outside Zhejiang, such as Fuzhou, Chengdu and Shijiazhuang.

The animation festival has also boosted the hostel business. The hostels near Tianyi Square saw near to full occupancy during the event. 

"The event, which promotes the integration and development of Ningbo's culture and tourism industry, will help build an animation cultural brand for the city," said an official of the organizing committee of the animation festival.